Immortal Wednesday
by noyz22
Summary: Wednesday Stevens is just a socially awkward teenager trying to get through yet another family move, but nothing could ever have prepared her for what she found in Shadyview. Vampires! Much better as it goes on...not happy at all with 1-5...
1. Chapters 1 to 5 The Beginning

One of those "Save the world" kinda stories.

(with just a bit of romance and a few vampires thrown in for fun.)

Written by: Noyz

CH. 1

The sound of the alarm going off woke me from my daze.

I squinted my eyes against the glare of the little machine telling me it was 6:30. Groaning, I rolled over and sat up dizzily, still exhausted from the 10 hour flight, and looked around the unfamiliar room.

_Huh? Where am I?_

Even as the questions formed in my mind, I remembered. This was my newest room. I say newest because my family has been moving around since I was a child. I sighed sadly, thinking of my friends back in Texas. I'd seen them only days ago, but already I wished I was with them. My parents seem to have a real knack of uprooting us right when everyone has settled down and made a few friends.

A sudden loud rap on the door startled me out of my moping.

"Wednesday! We're going to be late for school! Get up!" That was my youngest sister, Emmalea, and yes, my name really is Wednesday. My parents have always thought it was prettier than Thursday but not as lazy as Friday. My four siblings had been given strange names as well, though none quite as strange as mine. Especially due to the fact that I was born on Tuesday. My three sisters were Emmalea, Winifred, and Rosalinda. Winifred and Rosalinda are older than me, while Emmalea is the youngest of us all. My brother, Jerry, was the lucky one. Or would have been if my parents hadn't made his middle name, Reasonable. We all call him that instead, of course.

I flinched. Even the _word_ "school" was enough to put my stomach on edge. Just one of the many reasons I seldom eat a great deal for breakfast.

Grabbing and pulling on a grey AFI shirt I was 90% sure was clean and an old pair of faded black pants, I ran down the stairs, and straight into my mother.

"Ouch! Sorry, Mom." I laughed at my carelessness.

Holding me at arms length, my mother looked me up and down. Carline Stevens was a rather short, but beautiful woman. Her hair, a dark, blue-black color that I envied, was cut and straightened to frame her heart-shaped face. The truth is, I'm adopted. My real mother had thought it best if I be given to someone who knew what they were doing. I didn't mind, though. I loved my adoptive mother as much as, if not more than, any real daughter could. Suddenly, mom started laughing, and the skin around her dark brown eyes crinkled.

"What? Are you suddenly too cool to wear shoes like the rest of us?"

I looked down, saw my naked toes, and realized that I'd forgotten a very important part of my outfit. Flip-flops. Funny how I hadn't felt the carpet between my toes until she'd said something. Blushing a dark red, I performed an about-face, and walked back up the stairs.

Rummaging through a box next to my door labeled 'shoes', I found my favorite pair of black flip-flops and slipped them on. Glancing up through my open doorway, I saw Emmalea coming out of her room dressed as if she were going to a job interview. The tidy black sweater dress she was wearing over knee-length black tights made her look sophisticated and confident. She had the same blue-black hair and dark brown eyes as our mother and it was painfully obvious that she had inherited the same short gene.

Following her down the stairs, I grabbed my bag from the table and let her lead the way to the bus, which had conveniently just pulled up to our drive.

_Here goes nothing._ I thought worriedly to myself as we climbed the stairs onto the bus.

Ch. 2

The bus turned out to be just like every other bus I'd ever had the misfortune of having to ride in. Overcrowded and overwhelming with the force of dozens of conversations at once.

Trying to ignore the headache forming behind my forehead, I followed Emmalea onto the bus. Rosalinda, Winifred, and Reasonable are triplets, meaning all three of them are old enough to drive to school on their own. They all shared one car, however, and, rather than be smashed together everyday, Emmalea and I agreed to take the bus to school.

Emmalea, always so sure of herself, quickly found a seat among other freshman such as herself, leaving me to face the sophomores on my own. They were staring, of course. This never failed to freak me out. Not, unfortunately, that I wasn't stare-worthy.

I told you before that I was adopted. What I didn't tell you is that I look absolutely nothing like my adoptive family. My wild red hair and tall, lanky body were horribly, glaringly different than most people I've met. It was true of the students here, too. Not a redhead in the bunch, from what I could see. It didn't help that no matter which direction I looked, at least one person was staring at me.

Grimly locking my jaw, I made my way down the narrow walkway, looking for a seat. I would've had to stand the whole way or smoosh myself into an already full seat had it not been for the boy suddenly waving at me from his seat near the back of the bus. He patted the empty space next to him when he was sure he'd gotten my attention and moved his bag next to his feet. I smiled, happy to see a friendly face, and walked towards him. It was then, as I started to sit, that I truly saw his face for the first time. I immediately began blushing.

The boy sitting next to me was by far the most gorgeous boy I'd ever seen in my life. His eyes, a brilliant ocean gray, were twinkling at me from behind his slanted black bangs. His clothes were as gothic as my own, which somehow seemed to make him even more attractive.

"So…I'm guessing you're new here?" He asked softly. I looked down, knowing that I'd been staring, and answered shakily. "Um…Yes, actually. We just got here yesterday from Texas. I can't get over how different Shadyview is! And huge! There are so many people here!" I stopped, embarrassed. In my nervousness, I'd started babbling, which was stupid because I normally hated talking a lot.

But he was grinning. His smile seemed to do funny things with my heart. It bothered me that a stranger could do that.

"You'll get used to it, I promise. I'm Atton Bricks, by the way. And you are…?" He let his question hang open, encouraging me to answer. Looks_ and _manners. A small smile played on my lips, but its life was short.

_Might as well just get it over with…At least his name is unique too…_ I thought sadly. I hate introductions because of my name. Most people laugh and say "No, seriously. What's your name?" I usually end up wasting ten minutes convincing them that my name is indeed Wednesday and that I am really tired of explaining it to everyone.

"My name is Wednesday Stevens, and I really hope you're right."

His lips twitched at the corners, but he didn't laugh.

"Nice name. It suits you."

I was surprised. He actually believed me! Finally meeting someone that took my name seriously made my heart warm. I would have to write about it later in my all important journal.

"Thanks! My parents are crazy."

He laughed, a soft and silky sound, and turned to stare out the window. I assumed that that meant our conversation was over. I looked past him and out at the scenery flying past, wondering if I might have made a new friend. The prospect of making a friend, and a hot one at that, on the first day of school was unheard of for me.

The bus pulled into the school parking lot then, and I readied myself for what was to come. I'd gone through this more times than I cared to count and knew what to expect. My only fear was that one of the teachers would ask me to stand and introduce myself to the class. Talking to crowds has never been one of my strongest points.

With these worries in mind, I shouldered my purse and allowed myself to be jostled off of the bus. I didn't make it far, however, because as I took in the huge building before me, I realized I had no idea where the front office was. A soft touch on my shoulder jolted me out of my shock. It was Atton, smiling at me in a knowing way.

"Don't worry, I was new here too, last year. I'll show you where everything is if you'll let me." I wondered if his eyes always sparkled when he smiled or if it was just my imagination. My shoulder tickled oddly where he had touched me.

"O-of course! I'd love the help. Thanks!" I hurriedly shut-up before my mouth said something stupid or worse, got tongue tied, and followed him through the double doors into a commons area twice as large as any I'd ever been in. I gawked, and he laughed.

"It's this way, Wednesday." He said, motioning at a door with a little square tile reading "Head Office". I smiled at the back of his head as he lead the way in. He'd said my name as if it were just that, a name. As if my name were Amy or Jessica instead of Wednesday.

The head office was just as large as I'd been afraid it would be. Actually, it was a little ridiculous. The woman at the front desk looked up at us as we walked in, held up a finger for us to wait, and then went back to the phone she had pressed to her ear.

"Yes…yes…I'll tell him right away. Of course…I'll make sure he knows. Mmmhmm…you're welcome. Goodbye." She still didn't look at us as she placed the phone back onto its receiver.

"Um…" I began but she cut me off.

"You need a schedule, right?" She nodded to herself and continued before I could respond. "I've seen every face here at least once except you, meaning you're the new student, Wednesday Stevens." She turned to her computer and started typing. I shared an exasperated glance with Atton. _Is this lady for real? _I thought to myself.

She clicked the enter button and tapped her nails impatiently as a paper made its way out if the printer. When it finished, she snatched it up and handed it to me.

"Here. This is your schedule. It has your locker number as well. Now if you'll excuse me." With that, she stood and left the room through a door behind her desk.

For a moment, I just stood there, but then the first bell rang, making me jump. Trying not to blush, I turned to Atton.

"Sorry, but it looks like I've made you late for class. Um…" My face got even warmer. "Can you tell me where-" I looked at the first name. "-Mr. Davis's class is?" Atton smiled a smile that made my heart flip.

"Absolutely! It is, after all, _my_ first class, too."

I couldn't help it. I grinned right along with him. My first day of class was turning out to be very good indeed.

CH. 3

School was not nearly as bad as I had first assumed it would be.

Mr. Davis did indeed make me stand and introduce myself to the class. The good thing was that, once I was finished stuttering and being laughed at, he told me to take the seat next to Atton. Atton smiled apologetically as I slid into the desk on his right. "It'll get better. Promise!" He mouthed. _I doubt it…_I thought to myself, but I smiled at him all the same.

Mr. Davis was the World History teacher, as it turned out, which is the only class I have ever truly hated in my life. It didn't help that Mr. Davis just continued with his lecture without bothering to tell me what we were doing.

"As I was saying, George Washington was our first president. Now, can anyone tell me what he was before he took on the very important responsi…" I managed to tune him out. There was no point in trying to keep up today. I'd do all that tomorrow. What was important right now was figuring out what I was going to do during lunch and whatever my schedule meant by 'break'. Should I sit with the first Goths I see? Or just find an empty table and hope no one sits there?

Lunch on the first day of school is always the worst because you don't know anyone. Basically, you have to figure out the best place to sit just by looking at people. Not something I ever looked forward to.

After what seemed like an eternity, the bell signaling the end of class rang, and I began shoving my various folders and writing utensils back into my purse. As I did, I felt a touch on my shoulder that was quickly becoming familiar. Atton was standing behind me in the aisle between our desks, his arm still raised from getting my attention.

"I know, I'll move in just a moment. Sorry." I said before he could ask me to get out of the way. He grinned. _What did I say? _I thought._ Is it really that easy to please this guy?_

"I wasn't going to ask you to move. I was wondering if you needed directions to your next class." _Oh._ I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.

"Sure! Um…I have…_Mrs. Davis_?!" I stared at my schedule in surprise, then up at the man sitting behind the desk in the corner of the room. Did his wife work here, too? It seemed so. This was going to be weird. Atton laughed at my stricken expression. _Uh-huh. Definitely easy to please. At least I won't have to worry if he'll laugh at my cheesy jokes or not. _

"Yeah, she's married to Mr. Davis. Come on, I'll show you where her classroom is." With that, he jumped over the desk so he could more easily get around me, earning a glare from Mr. Davis, and walked out the door. I blinked. _This guy is really graceful…I wonder if he dances._ At that moment, Atton's head popped back into view.

"You coming?"

Giggling, I nodded and let him lead the way down the hall and up a flight of stairs. Can you believe that this school has two stories? It's incredible! The halls were, unfortunately, overcrowded with people. I say unfortunately because most of them were staring at me as I followed Atton.

Some waved at Atton as they passed, and he'd grin at them and "Hey!" or "What's up?" back without stopping. Actually, most of the people going out of their way to speak to him were girls.

_Well, duh! _I chastised myself._ Of course a guy as handsome as Atton would have lots of girls after him._

"Here it is." Atton said, opening the door to the class with a flourish of his hands. I blushed, of course. The heat on my face only got worse when I realized the girls within hearing range of me were glaring. It made me wonder if being Atton's friend was going to be bad for my health. Nothing worse than a jealous type with a crush.

"Thanks! You're a life saver!" I smiled in a way I hoped was cheerful. He just grinned, again, and bowed his way out. _Bowing? Really? _I laughed inwardly. I decided right then and there that I liked this guy. _As a friend, of course!_ I lied to myself.

Mrs. Davis's Health class was unlike any class I'd ever gone to. She had us play a game were we split up into groups and made a salad out of all our favorite fruits. When we were all finished deciding what we wanted in it, we wrote the ingredients down. Tomorrow we would make our salads and Mrs. Davis would vote on the most delicious. The winners would get 5 dollars each and then we'd all eat each other's fruit salads. I actually couldn't wait!

The bell rang all too soon and, with a collective class groan, we gathered our things and started filing out into the hall.

I was almost to the door when the girl in front of me turned around and blocked my path. I stopped, hoping she wasn't about to chew me out for "messing with her man" or some other nonsense. She was smiling, however.

"Hey! I'm Angela! I'm just going to get this out there before I lose my guts, 'kay?" She took a deep breath while I stared at her as if she were insane and continued. "You look nice and I love your outfit, so I was wondering if you wanted to be friends."

I really couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud.

"I'd love to be your friend! I'm Wednesday. It's nice to meet you, Angela." I managed to say between giggles. Her confused expression immediately cleared when she heard this and she smiled.

"Ok! Now that that's settled! Do you need help finding anything or your locker or something?" Her face was absolutely glowing. I couldn't have said no even if I'd wanted to.

The girl that was now leading me out of class was only a couple of inches shorter than I was with a slightly slumped poster and beautiful dirty blonde hair. The tiny cleft in her chin and her soulful blue eyes gave her a lost puppy look that I was sure had lots of boys drooling over her. When we reached our destination, she smiled brightly and waved before leaving. I realized then that she hadn't said anything when she'd heard my name. I was incredulous. I've only been here for a few hours and already I've made two friends that didn't bother me about my crazy name.

I entered class with a grin on my face and a happy, warm feeling in my chest.

Third period, Chemistry for me, was taught by a very grumpy woman named Mrs. Scott. She grunted at me as I explained that I was new and pointed at a desk in the back of class. I couldn't complain about my seating arrangement at least.

The period limped by while Mrs. Scott wrote out various chemical formulas on the board and their names. I could tell right away that this was going to be one of the boring classes. With fifteen minutes left in class, Mrs. Scott finally passed out a worksheet that would be due on Wednesday.

"Wednesday? Does that mean we're going to have to give our papers to the new girl when we finish?" A beautiful and very preppy girl chirped when the due date was announced. A smattering of laughter was her reward. I flushed angrily and ducked my head. _I knew my day couldn't possibly stay good._

"Ms. Jamie! That's no way to treat Ms. Wednesday!" Mrs. Scott admonished. It only made them giggle harder though. I gave the teacher a pleading look, hoping she would leave it be. She seemed to understand because she sat behind her desk with another grunt and began typing on her computer.

The bell rang then, and, being careful to let the preppy girl leave first, I left in search of my 4th period room.

_What was her problem?! _I pondered as I searched for room 211. This school had a very confusing layout. _It just has to be here somewhere…_I thought worriedly to myself.

My next class was English2A with Mrs. Clifford, my best subject. My scores on the tax test were high enough that they put me in advance classes.

I'd reached the end of the hallway and was in the process of turning the corner when I suddenly hit a brick wall. I mean, someone's chest. Blinking dizzily, I looked up at the boy that was now kneeling over me with a worried scowl. It was ridiculous how immediately I recognized those eyes.

"On no! I'm so stupid! I didn't…I mean, I wasn't..!" Atton's voice was laced with embarrassment and chagrin.

_Wow…_Was all I could think._ He's even cuter when he's upset…_

I realized then that I was just laying there, looking up at him and that he was waiting for me to reply, his frown growing more pronounced with every second that I didn't.

"Um…don't worry about it, Atton. It was my fault for not paying attention. I just need to watch where I'm going." I laughed shakily and stood up. Atton, seemingly always a gentleman, helped me, his hand warm where it grasped my elbow.

"Where were you going in such a rush anyway?" He asked, but I couldn't bring myself to answer because I'd just seen the huge crowd of people that was beginning surround us. All the girls except one were glaring at me so hard I thought their eyes would pop out of their heads. The one not glaring was Angela, much to my relief.

"S-sorry for the disturbance!" I stuttered softly to the crowd in general before shouldering my way through to the empty hallway beyond. Mrs. Clifford's class was mercifully only ten feet away.

I spent the next 45 minutes tucked away in a corner of the room, trying to ignore my classmate's stares. It wasn't very easy because at least four people took it upon themselves to throw me notes asking who I was and what that scene in the hallway had been all about. I would just shake my head at them and give them please-leave-me-alone looks. They seemed to get the message.

When the bell rang, Mrs. Clifford told me that it was now lunch time and that the cafeteria was down the stairs and through the third door on the left. I thanked her for her thoughtfulness and hurriedly made my way there.

I waited through the line for food with my head down, though I could feel the stares directed at me.

_With a school as big as this, you'd think they had something better to do with their time!_ My thoughts buzzed angrily.

I was lucky with lunch. Chicken nuggets and pizza. I bought both, feeling as if I could eat the whole student body, and braced myself for the challenge of finding somewhere to sit.

My small luck held, however, because just as I left the line, a soft, voice spoke my name from behind my left shoulder. I let out a tiny squeak, earning myself an amused chuckle.

"You can sit with me if you don't mind making my fans angrier with you." Atton whispered conspiratorially, mischief dancing in his eyes. I couldn't help but grin and whisper back, "Of course! Nothing's more fun that making girls that are prettier than me jealous!" but his grin vanished and his expression grew somber.

"They aren't prettier than you in my eyes. I don't classify a woman simply by her outward appearance."

I blinked, happy that he didn't judge by looks but not sure if he'd complimented me or not. Never the less, I nodded as if I'd understood and he lead the way to his table. It was packed with girls, which didn't surprise me at all. What _did_ have me nervous was that the girl now offering Atton the open seat next to her was the same girl that had openly mocked me in class.

"Atton!" She huffed teasingly, though her eyes were telling me to get lost. "I don't see you for just half a day and already you've started cheating on me!" She giggled, but it never reached her green eyes. Her hair was a platinum blonde that couldn't have been completely natural, and she was wearing a pink sweater over a white collared shirt and a pleated pink skirt. She looked every bit like the preppy stereotype. If I hadn't liked her before, the cold look she was sending me had me hating her now.

Atton laughed, a much different laugh than I'd heard before. It must be his fake laugh, I realized, just a bit happy that this girl annoyed him. I frowned at myself. It wasn't like me to think like that. My worst nightmare would be for me to turn into just another jealous girl with a crush on a boy that would never like her back. Atton's voice brought me back to reality.

"Come now, you know me better than that, Jamie!" He pretended to be offended at the Barbie, I mean Jamie, before turning and addressing the rest of the girls. "Can't we make just a bit more room?" The girls obediently, though a bit reluctantly, shifted around so that I could sit next to Atton. I shook my head. Sitting next to a hot guy wasn't worth the wrath I was sure I'd face from Jamie later.

"Don't worry about it, Atton. I'll just eat in my car. Besides, I'm really claustrophobic around a lot of people so…" I trailed off, convinced I was only making myself look like an idiot. He looked as if he were going to protest, so I cut him off with a little farewell wave and walked out of the double doors not twenty feet away from me.

"Too bad she didn't want to stay, Atton." I heard Barbie say as I left. "She would have been a lot of fun." Something about the way she said it made me feel as if it wouldn't have been me having the fun.

"Man! This is one weird school!" I muttered to myself as soon as I was outside and alone. Sitting on the nearest bench, I got out my notebook and decided to write down the good, bad, and just plain _weird_ things about my day.

Good things about the school day:

1. Atton- a boy that was really hot, had incredible manners, and seemed to want to be my friend.

2. Health and English2A- _definitely_ my favorite classes now.

3. Angela- yet another person that seemed nice and actually asked me to be friends with her.

Bad things about the school day:

1. World History- that's all I have to say.

2. Jamie (Barbie)- definitely a person to avoid if at all possible.

Weird things about the school day:

1. Every girl on campus seems to be in love with Atton.

2. Everyone is always staring at me. It's a big school, you'd think I'd be able to blend in just a little bit!

3. Mr. Davis and Mrs. Davis are nothing alike, yet they're married! They don't seem like a couple that would fit together well. "Love hath no boundaries" I suppose.

Sitting there, I realized that for the first time all day, I felt peaceful. There was a slight breeze that brought with it the smell of flowers and freshly cut grass. I breathed it in, just enjoying the moment of silence.

Of course the bell would choose that moment to ring for 6th period.

Letting out a sad sigh and throwing my untouched food away (so much for being hungry) I made my way back through the cafeteria doors and back out into the hallway. I felt like I'd spent most of my day walking around in hallways. _This school is just too big!_ I decided.

My sixth through eighth periods passed by much the same way the first five did. Once I found the right room, I had to introduce myself to the teacher and find a seat as close to the back as possible. Then, 45 minutes later, the bell would ring and I'd have to start all over. No one came up to talk to me, though _everyone_ stared, which was just fine with me. Two friends were much more than I'd dared hope for.

As soon as the last bell rang, I grabbed my things and made a bee line for my locker, which was mercifully only a little ways down the hall. Once I was finished there, it was all I could do not to sprint for the bus stop. This school was messing with my mind in ways I didn't understand. So many people. So much noise! I couldn't get home soon enough.

The bus took an infuriatingly long time to show up, a time I spent shifting from foot to foot and glancing around to see if Atton was there yet. We'd all gotten on and the driver was about to close the door when he burst in, looking flushed.

"Sorry! I had to make up a test!" He apologized to the old man in the driver's seat. The man just glared and motioned for him to take a seat. To my horror, (and joy) I realized that I was sitting in the only open seat, much like _he'd_ been that morning. _Oh no! Now people will definitely hate me! _I tried to cover my seat with my bag but by the time I'd started reaching down it was too late. His eyes had found mine and now he was making his way towards me. _Well, good thing I've never been popular…_

"Hi, Atton. How was your day?" I asked shyly. If the girls of this hellish place were going to hate me, might as well make sure they all did.

He smiled sadly, and my eyes widened. Had something happened? My stomach twisted into tight knots.

"Fine." Was all he replied before he pulled out a book and his face disappeared behind his dark bangs. It seemed he didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him.

Refusing to get depressed, I pulled out the book I'd brought from home and began reading as well. It was the second book of my favorite trilogy, recently turned into a cycle, _Eldest_. The only book I'd been careful to bring onto the plane with me so it couldn't get lost. Quickly losing myself in the realm of dragon riders, elves, and dwarves, I let my day and the boy sitting next to me drift out of my mind.

I had just reached chapter five when the bus pulled onto my road. Placing my bookmark in between the pages and grabbing my bag, I tapped Atton on the shoulder. He jumped and looked up at me with a surprised expression. I giggled, just a little proud of myself for being able to startle him, and motioned with my free hand that I had to get out.

His eyebrows furrowed a little, but he stood and made room for me to pass by.

"See you later." Was all I could make myself say before I turned and followed my sister off the bus and down our winding driveway.

My sister didn't say anything to me while we walked the fifty yards from the road to our new home. The love of silence was one of the few things my sister and I actually had in common. I could tell by the way several strands of hair were escaping her carefully maintained ponytail that Emmalea was just as frazzled about our over-sized school as I was.

There's one thing you should know about my family. We all love solitude and have unique ways of pursuing it. I, for example, can loose myself completely in a book or an Ipod. Music and the written word, for me, are a wonderful release from the sad realities around me. It's what has kept me sane over the years.

As soon as Emmalea and I were inside, we left the other to do as they pleased. For Emmalea, it was reality TV. For me, it was my own room, my stereo, and a good fantasy novel.

The day had been a long and exhausting one, and I needed to write about my experiences in my journal.

I had a feeling I'd be writing for a while.

CH.4

My room really wasn't as bad as some of the rooms I'd been forced to sleep in. The small, twin-sized bed that my parents had bought over the weekend was only slightly lumpy, and the walls were a very lovely shade of sky blue. _I'll have to paint clouds on them sometime. _I thought to my self as I walked through my bedroom door, locking it behind me. The lock was a new concept to me, and I wasn't about to let it just sit there.

Looking around, I truly took in my room for the first time. It was smaller than normal because it used to be a storage room and smelled faintly of lemon. I could only assume it was the previous owner's favorite smell, since it seemed to cling to everything in the house. It was a quiet, unobtrusive odor that one quickly stopped noticing.

Because the room hadn't been built for someone to live in, it didn't have a closet, but I didn't have many clothes anyway. They easily fit in the faded blue dresser that the last family had left behind, which took up half of the back wall. My mom would probably offer to have it taken out, since it didn't match any of my own red furniture, but I liked it. It gave the room a unique, clashing style that I felt reflected my personality well. The dresser was bare except for my little alarm clock.

The last half of the back wall held my desk and TV, which I'd dumped on top of it for lack of a better place to put it. There were several boxes stacked against the corner filled with my various possessions. A tall shape in the corner of my eye caught my attention. My vanity was my favorite piece of furniture, though the mirror had long lost its reflective properties, because it was the only thing that I'd been able to keep with me through all our moves.

The only thing left in my room was the bed next to me and the outfit I'd worn on the plane that I'd left on the floor. Pushing the dirty clothes to the side, I rummaged through a box labeled "things I'll need immediately". It held my stereo, my favorite books, and the numerous journals I'd filled with my thoughts over my short lifetime. Grabbing the small stereo, I plugged it in, found the right station, and quickly went back to the box. My most recent journal was on top waiting for me. Taking it, I settled down onto my bed with my back against the wall and, with a pencil I'd kept in my pocket for just this moment and AFI playing in the background, I began writing.

I told my closest friend about Atton and his weird admirers, about the rather odd but nice Angela, and the terrible Barbie named Jamie. It soaked in every detail without judging and without staring at me the way the people at school had. I soon lost track of reality and was in the process of describing the way Atton had seemed so deflated on the bus ride home when I heard a faint knock on my door. It was the kind of knock you could imagine having a question mark behind it. My mother was asking without words if she could come in.

I loved my mother more than anything else when she did this. It made me feel as if she understood me and that I wasn't alone in my frustrations. I never told you why we move around so much, did I? My father is a salesman who's stock changes as often as we change homes. He goes wherever his work takes him, and we follow along in his shadow. Don't get the wrong idea, though. Our father, Jarred Stevens, was a good man that loves his children and wife dearly, and we love him back. We just wish he had a different job.

"Come in, mom!" I called as I marked my page and glanced at my alarm. I'd been sitting there for three hours, which explained the pain in my neck. The door creaked open, and my mother walked in. She looked beautiful, as always, and apologetic.

"Sorry sweetheart, but you've got to come down and eat sometime. I'd hate for you to miss out on the hamburger helper." She smiled mischievously as she said the last part, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist my favorite food. I smiled right along with her, knowing I wouldn't be able to either. Stretching like a cat, I stood, turned off the stereo that was now playing Disturbed, and placed my journal under my pillow.

"Oh, if I _must_." I teased as I followed her back out into the hall and down the stairs. The stairs lead to the living room and end directly opposite the door to the tiny dining room. I could smell the food now, and my mouth started watering.

"Smells great, mom!" I complemented her, earning a crinkle-eyed grin.

The table was already full of my numerous siblings when I made it to the dining room. Winifred motioned at my already fixed plate sitting beside her and, with a grin in her direction, I sat down and dug in.

"Nice to see you're alive!" Reasonable teased me from the seat on my left as he reached over to mess up my hair. I grunted with my mouth full and swatted his hand away. My brother had an annoying habit of only doing that to me. He knew that if he did it to any of my more hair-conscious sisters, he'd lose a finger or two. There was a collective laugh at my now tangled hair as my mom and dad squeezed in with their plates.

"What's so funny?" My father asked, and everyone pointed at me, much to my embarrassment. He laughed appreciatively before telling Reasonable to cut it out.

My mother and sisters loved to simply sit and listen when we all sat down to eat, leaving my father, Reasonable, and me to pick on, tease, and annoy each other as much as possible. We never left the table without one of us having food of some sort in our hair. I loved it with every fiber of my being. It was the only thing that never changed, no matter how many times our surroundings might. Sure, we fought and argued all the time, but we'd always make up eventually.

Once everyone was finished eating, Reasonable, the rock-paper-scissors loser, began clearing the dishes and sitting them in the sink to be washed.

"Need help? I'll rinse and dry." I offered as I stacked plates into his waiting hands. He just nodded with a look of gratitude. Reasonable has always hated washing the dishes. Once we were finished, he flipped my bangs around again, earning a glare from me, and made his way upstairs to his room at the end of the hall. I frowned. _That's weird…He usually says thank you, at least._ My only brother seemed to have something preoccupying his mind today. I could only hope it wasn't a bad something.

"So." A voice spoke up, making me jump and whirl around. It was Winnifred. Winnifred, standing at six foot one inches, was the only one of my mother's children that had escaped the short gene, and the only one that had inherited our father's recessive blonde hair, pale skin, and glittering green eyes. She also happened to be the only one of my female siblings that didn't insist on a regular basis that I wear some pink every now and again.

I smiled at my favorite sister as she continued in her soprano voice.

"How was your first school day? I'm sure you must have felt overwhelmed by how big it all was." Once again, Winnifred displayed the ability to predict my feelings. I sometimes felt as if she could read the thoughts behind my dull green eyes.

"Yeah, I couldn't breathe all day." I admitted, hanging my head in embarrassment. Her slender hand patted my left shoulder sympathetically as I spilled my guts about all the weird and awesome things that had happened. When I was finished, she offered to give me a pedicure to help me relax. I laughed, knowing she'd offered to do such a ridiculous thing to make me do just that.

"Sure!" I said, trying to sound like Emmalea. "Can I borrow your pink hoodie while I'm at it?"

"That's not right!" She corrected me between giggles. "She wouldn't ask first!"

Feeling much better now that someone had listened to me, I thanked her and returned to my room to finish today's journal session. The journal was sitting just where I'd left it along with my pencil.

Once again, I turned on the stereo, made myself comfortable, and began writing. Another two hours later, I closed the little book. Satisfied and weary, I looked at the clock, which read 8:45. _Late_ _enough._ I concluded and dressed for bed. Maybe with more than a few hours of sleep under my belt, school wouldn't seem so suffocating tomorrow.

For the first time in several days, I slept through the entire night.

ch.5

I woke up the next morning feeling more energized than before, which I took as a good sign. Digging through my drawers, I found my studded black skinny jeans, my favorite red and black belt, and a tight shirt that had "Goth-o-licous" emblazoned across the front in bleeding red letters.

The bathroom, by some strange miracle, was empty, so I quickly rolled on black eyeliner and silver eye shadow. I never bothered putting on lipstick because my lips were already a very prominent shade of pale red. I was running a brush through my hair in a vain attempt to tame its messy curls when my youngest sister started knocking on the door. Not wanting to make her angry with me so early in the morning, I quickly gave up and shuffled back into my room. My black army boots were waiting for me in the middle of my "shoes" box.

"Wednesday! Come eat some breakfast before you go!" My mother called from the kitchen. The smell of bacon and fried eggs wafted up at me as I made my way down the stairs, making my stomach grumble. I've never passed up a chance to eat bacon and don't plan on ever starting.

"Mmm!" Was all I could say as I shoved the still hot meat into my mouth. This day was definitely going to be a good one.

"Glad you like it! Try to breathe every now and then." My mother teased as I grabbed my bag and threw it over my right shoulder. I nodded at her, tried to grin without showing her my breakfast, and walked out the door towards my sister's already receding figure. It was surreal how fast she could be ready for school and still look as if she'd been working on her look for hours.

The bus pulled to a stop a few feet away from the end of our driveway while we were still a good 10 yards away, and the bus driver honked impatiently. My sister and I picked up our pace.

It was then, while we were climbing the stairs, that I thought about Atton for the first time since late last night. My stomach twisted, making me wonder if it had been a good idea to eat so much bacon after all.

There he was, sitting halfway down this time, smiling his dreamy smile at me. I lifted an eyebrow at him. Was he feeling any better? It certainly seemed so. I sat down next to him, looking in his eyes for any hint of the sorrow he'd displayed the day before. His smile slipped a little, and I saw confusion behind those grey depths.

"Is…something wrong?" He questioned. _Maybe he was just worried he'd fail that test he was talking about. _I decided that it didn't really matter anyway. Nobody, not even someone as kind as Atton seemed to be, could be happy _all_ the time.

"No." I soothed. "I was just wondering who or what made you so upset yesterday. You were really out of it on the way home."

His smile completely fell away then, and his eyebrows furrowed so close together, they almost looked like one long line.

"Distant? I guess I was. My girlfriend and I had a fight of sorts." He looked away, and I felt a twinge of guilt for bringing it up when he'd looked so happy.

"Listen, I'm sorry. It was none of my business anyway." I patted his arm awkwardly. Not wanting to upset him more, I started to turn and look out the window, but he stopped me.

"Wait. It's fine. Um…How was your morning?" He looked apologetic for some reason, but I let it go this time and answered.

"Well, not much has happened yet. I guess it was good, since the bathroom was actually open and I got to have bacon for breakfast." I stopped and bit my lip, afraid I'd just made myself sound like a moron, but he started laughing.

"Those certainly _are_ good things! I wish my day had started out that well." His laughter caught the attention of several girls nearby. They giggled and batted their eyelashes, hoping to earn a "good morning". Atton glanced at them and smiled the smile he'd given Jamie the day before. They immediately started hyperventilating.

_Do they really not realize? _I pondered, but then a horrible idea squirmed its way into my thoughts. _What if it was _me _he was giving the fake smile? Maybe _I _was the one he was humoring. _The very real possibility that this was true had me frowning at the boy next to me that was still smiling away at the silly girls across from us. The girls, upon realizing that I was there, began glaring at me. I glared right back, refusing to be bullied by jealous barbies that didn't approve of me sitting next to a boy that would probably never like them back. They looked away first, seeming a little miffed that I'd won the glare-off.

I glanced back at Atton as the bus pulled in front of the school. His attention had gone back to me while I'd been preoccupied, and he was now looking at me as one looked at a freak of nature. _Oh great._ I muttered to myself._ I've gone and freaked him out. _

The bus crawled to a stop and Atton stood, his mouth opening as if he was about to say something, but the tide of students behind him didn't give him the chance. I waited patiently as he was swept away for an opening in the line big enough for my bag and me to slip through. An opening never presented itself, however, and I ended up being the last person off the bus. Atton was no were to be seen, so I made my way to World History on my own.

Atton was a conundrum that made my brain hurt. Sitting in my seat just as the bell rang, I decided that no amount of jealous girls was going to stop me from being friends with the boy sitting next to me. Lunch, on the other hand, I still wanted to spend outside. The clean air of this city had cleared my head a little yesterday, and I had a feeling I would need that again today.A folded piece of paper landed on my desk, breaking me from my brooding thoughts. There was only one word written inside in elegant, yet somehow sloppy, handwriting. "Smile." I hadn't realized until that moment that the corners of my mouth were turned down in what could only be a scowl.

Glancing to my left, I saw the note's owner. Atton motioned at his mouth, which he was pinching up into a clown's leer. It looked so ridiculous, I did more than smile. I laughed so hard I doubled over in my seat. The teacher entered the classroom then, observed my uncontrollable laughter and the students now staring at me as if I'd gone insane for a moment, and made his way to his desk.

"Ms. Stevens. Are you quite alright?" His tone was politely amused but firm. I nodded, finally getting a hold over myself.

"Y-yes sir. It won't happen again." My face was so hot it felt as if it might melt off. Mr. Davis's lips twitched at the corners good naturedly. I was surprised. Maybe, just maybe, he and Mrs. Davis weren't so oddly matched after all.

"I should hope not. Now, I believe we were in the middle of studying George Washington's achievements before he became president. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?"

The class's attention, to my great relief, trained itself on Mr. Davis again. I sent a glare in Atton's direction, which he returned with a playful grin and a "What did I do?" look. Being careful to do so when Mr. Davis's back was turned, I quickly wrote, "I'll get you back. Just you wait." underneath his note and tossed it at him. He caught it one handed, much to my amazement, and opened it silently. A moment later, he was shaking with mute laughter, almost making me laugh out loud again.

He sent the note back, not even bothering to hide it from the teacher. I looked down my pale nose at it, afraid it might have something overly hilarious written in it. _Might as well…_I decided, unfolding little piece of notebook paper. "You can try." were the three simple words he wrote. I grinned, deciding that I was going to do everything in my power today to come up with a suitable way to embarrass him. My second day of school was going to be fun.

When the bell rang, I gathered my things and turned to face my new victim. He was still seated and not looking in my direction. At that moment, I realized I couldn't put any plans into action just yet. I didn't remember how to get to Mrs. Davis's class.

"Hey, um…" I began. "Would you…show me where-" He cut me off.

"Of course! I should have offered right away." I raised an eyebrow, still a little put off that anyone could be as nice as this guy. It was going to make it hard to get back at him. I'd feel much too guilty about it later if I embarrassed a boy that had only ever been nice to me. _No._ The little voice in the back of my head whispered._ He challenged you to do it. You can't back out now. _And so, as Atton lead me out of class and down the hall, I began planning my move.

My plans didn't get very far, though, as I was having too much fun. By the time it was halfway over, Health class had become one giant battle between groups. Everyone was working furiously to mix the various fruit we'd chosen into a tasteful and beautiful display. My group, upon hearing that I was planning on becoming a chef, quickly appointed me as the one who arranged the final salad into a work of art.

After several experiments, we decided on a floral display, where all the fruit were placed to resemble certain flowers. We won, much to our immense delight, and I left 2nd period with five dollars in my pocket and a huge smile on my face. Angela, who had been placed into a different group, caught up to me and slapped my shoulder in congratulations. Ignoring the bruise that was no doubt forming on my right shoulder blade, I asked her how her day was coming.

"Well, before Health, it was pretty crappy." I frowned at this, but she hurried on before I could respond, "But now it's great! I mean, even though we lost, I still got to eat more food than I could stand! And it was actually good for me!" Her eyes grew wider and wider with happiness as she spoke, and my worries were forgotten. Angela just didn't appear to be the kind of girl that stayed unhappy for long.

Waving goodbye to her, I hurried to my seat. Mrs. Scott chose then to walk huffily into the room and begin her lesson. I sighed, letting my attention wonder back to the task at hand. Getting Atton back. Should I try to annoy him during lunch? No, I needed that time to be at peace.

By the time the bell rang, I'd decided that it could only take place on the bus after school. The only question now was what I would do.

A shadow fell over me as I bent to put my things together. Glancing up, I saw that it was the horrid girl I'd dubbed "Barbie".

She was leaning over my desk, her beautiful features marred by an angry scowl. I knew what she was going to say to me before lip-glossed lips opened to speak.

"Keep your gothic mitts off of Atton." _Yup._ I thought, trying not to let myself smile, as she continued. "He may be humoring you because you're new, but don't let it go to your head. He's _my_ boyfriend and will soon forget all about your silly existence!" With that she glared one last time, turned on her heels, and walked out of the room. For a minute, I just sat there, but I couldn't hold it in for very long. I laughed long and hard. Somehow, ridiculous as it sounds, Barbie's not so veiled threats had only served to make my good mood even better.

Fourth and fifth period passed me by in a blur, and I found myself waiting in the lunch line without any knowledge as to how so much time had gone by so quickly. Lunch today was spaghetti and meatballs. Inhaling the soothing garlic aroma, I made my way to the double doors I'd gone through the day before. Atton was already sitting at his female-crowded table. Barbie was sitting next to him, throwing me hateful glances.

"Hey! Are you going to sit with me today?" Atton asked. I dared not let myself think that he sounded hopeful.

"No, I'm sorry. There's a wonderful bench outside calling my name." Without telling my mouth and vocal cords to do so, I continued. "The air out there is clean and works wonders at cleansing my mind." Clamping my mouth firmly shut before it could betray me further, I turned and hurried out. I could feel Barbie's glare boring into the back of my head the whole way.

Once safely outside, I sank gratefully onto the metal bench. The air still smelled faintly of cut grass, and a small smile found its way onto my lips. I'd been telling the truth inside. The air was definitely cleaner and made my tense shoulders relax fully for the first time since before school had started. This time I wasn't about to let my food go uneaten, and I began to dig in. The food was surprisingly better than it looked. It only made the moment better.

I was so engrossed in the food and the much needed silence, that I didn't hear the soft footsteps coming towards me. Or that they weren't coming from the way I'd come.

"Excuse me." A deep voice inquired, making me jump up and spill what was left of my meal. Trying not to let myself look peeved, I turned towards the new comer. The man standing before me was at least six and a half feet tall, skinny in the extreme, and wearing a suit that was just a little too short for him. His skin was the golden color of those who spent many hours outside, and his hair and eyes were a very dark brown. He was handsome, in an interesting way.

"Um…Can I help you?" Was all I could come up with to say. The man smiled gratefully, his lips pulling up to reveal blindingly white teeth. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Something about this man seemed off.

"I was hoping you'd say that. See, I've been called in to sub for Mrs. Rucker, the geometry teacher, and I seem to have parked on the wrong side of the school. Could you kindly show me where the head office is? I'll gladly help you clean the mess there up first." At the last part, he cast a pointed glance at spaghetti covered sidewalk. Ants were already beginning to carry off tiny pieces of noodle. Laughing nervously, I assured him that I would clean it up when I came back after showing him his way. He simply nodded at this, seeming occupied by some other thought, and followed me as I lead the way.

The head office wasn't very far off from the cafeteria, and I was soon back at the bench with a handful of towels. By the time the bell rang, my mood had been completely demolished and I just wanted to go home.

It occurred to me 90 minutes later that my 8th period class was geometry and that that would mean I'd have that stranger as a sub. Thankfully, however, he simply nodded at me in a grateful way when I walked in and, with no other acknowledgments that I existed, he began to introduce himself to the class.

"I am Mr. Raddclif and I will be subbing your class for today and tomorrow, during which you will do the worksheets Mrs. Rucker has selected for me to give you." He smiled his toothy smile when the class groaned and continued, "Don't worry! They are generously easy." The class relaxed a little. Mr. Raddclif turned out to be telling the truth. The worksheets were so easy I finished with a full twenty minutes left in class. I decided to spend the time planning what I would do on the bus ride home. I decided that simply doing what he had done to me would be too obvious. Maybe I should think of a hilarious nickname to call him. I grinned at this new idea. It was perfect. A sharp nudge from the student behind me brought me out of my slightly evil thoughts.

Following the direction of the girl's finger, I realized that Mr. Raddclif and the entire class was looking at me. I flushed, knowing that he'd probably called on me and I hadn't realized.

"Can you tell me the answer to problem number six, miss..?" I'd been right, he'd called on me. He also obviously did not know my name. Desperately trying to buy a little time, I spoke up.

"It's Wednesday, sir." He blinked, confused.

"The answer is Wednesday?" Many of the girls giggled, making my face drain of even more color.

"N-no sir. That's my name. Wednesday." I'd read over the problem by then and, to my relief, it was a very simple one. "The answer is 44 inches squared." Mr. Raddclif's mouth pulled down at the corners. _Oh no._ I thought, horrified._ He doesn't believe me! Here comes a long explanation._

"You say your name is Wednesday?" He snatched up the roll sheet that he'd ignored until then. Quiet snickers sounded around me as Mr. Raddclif scanned for my name. After a minute he sat it down with a victorious look on his thin face.

"There is no Wednesday on this list. Please tell the class what your real name is. Now." His dark eyes bored into mine, making me shift uneasily before replying.

"But sir. That really _is_ my name. Yesterday was my first day here, so my name isn't on any of the roll sheets yet." I tried my very best to look sincere as his frown deepened. Lifting a finger, he began counting the students.

"22..." He mumbled to himself as he turned back to the roll sheet. "21...Well. It would seem that at least part of your story is true, Miss Wednesday..." He said my name with a tone that clearly stated that he still didn't believe that part. I sighed to myself. There really was no point in trying to make him believe me. _Oh well..._It didn't really matter to me whether he believed me or not. What did matter was that the bell had just rang and it was now time to find Atton and put my plan into action.

If I'd known what was coming, then maybe I'd have walked home. Then again, maybe I wouldn't have...


	2. Chapter 6 Unexpected Happenings

Ch. 6

The bus stop was just as crowded as it was the day before, much to my annoyance. Getting a good seat was definitely going to be next to impossible.

As I waited, I went over my rather silly plan. This was either going to embarrass him or make me look like an idiot. He didn't show, however, and I was soon pushed onto the bus with the throng of students behind me. I needn't have worried because, just like yesterday, Atton hurled himself through the doors just as they began to shut.

"What's your brilliant excuse _this_ time?" The bus driver demanded angrily. Atton merely shrugged and made his way down the narrow aisle. This time, I motioned him over rather than try and hide. He grinned and slid into the seat next to me. Of course, just as I'd half expected myself to, I started chickening out.

"You seem a little spacey today. Are you quite alright?" That was Atton, worried about my lack of speech. I shook my head, forcing a smile. All the day's careful planning was going to go down the drain if I didn't find my courage soon.

He nudged me playfully, and motioned at the students around us.

"Look! Forty people just begging to be where you are, and all you do is just sit there. You aren't being a very thoughtful fan girl." He was grinning, letting me know that he was only kidding, but the insinuation still stung a little. I wasn't just another bouncy girl with a crush on the school hottie.

"I'll have you know that I'm not like like!" I glowered for a moment before continueing. "Look. You're really great and everything, but I'm not, nor will I ever be, a fan girl." His mouth opened in surprise, but I turned to look out the window before he could say whatever was on his mind. There was a black car with tented windows driving along side us. By now the bus had made its way to the outskirts of town. I frowned at the car, wondering who might be behind the dark glass. Suddenly, the car twisted to the left, ramming into the right side of the bus. My mouth opened in a silent scream as I was thrown into Atton's arms. Others, unfortunately, didn't have the same luxery of someone to catch them. The car wasn't finished, though. It rammed us a second time, sending the bus dangerously close to the deep ditch on its left side. Atton and I tumbled out of the seat and down the walkway.

"Atton! What's happening?!" I tried to scream, but all that came out was a horrified whisper that was drowned out by the children around us. Atton, his arms locked around my waist in a vise grip, somehow heard me.

"I don't know, but don't worry! I'll take care of you." His words, though laced with poorly concealed panic, caused a blanket of calm to settle over my sinces. I held onto him for dear life as the bus was rammed for a third time and we were airborn again. There was a loud crack as we slammed into something hard, the emergency door. Atton's shreak of agony was muffled against my hair. More and more children pressed against us and the door until, with one last crack, it flew open and Atton and I were torn apart. The last thing I heard was Atton calling my name as I landed and hit my head on something hard and smooth, making my vision go splotchy. Everything began to move in slow motion as I lay there, aware that I was hurt but unable to feel the pain. My limbs felt oddly light, as if I were floating.

It's a terrible thing to slowly fall into the darkness that unconsciousness brings. It starts at the edges of your vision, slowly working its way inwards. I knew nothing, felt nothing, but the steady beating of my sluggish heart and the aweful fear that I was about to die.

**Yay for suspense!! What's gonna happen!?!? It was really hard for me to write this chapter because I hate to make bad things happen to my main character, but the story would be downright boring if they didn't! lol For thoughs who might wonder, you may call me Noyz! It's pronouced like noise. I hope you enjoy my story! Please review!!**


	3. Chapter 7 Waking Up

Ch. 7

Waking up was painful and slow.

As the pain became more pronounced, sounds began to reach me through the ocean of inky darkness.

No, not sounds.

A voice.

Atton's voice was speaking to me frantically. I could only make out tiny fragments of it, but the panic bubbling behind the words was very clear. I wanted to open my eyes, tell him that he shouldn't be afraid, but my body still wasn't obeying me.

I could feel a strange pressure on my shoulders and the back of my head now. _His lap…_The thoughts crawled into my mind._ He's put me in his lap._ With this recognition came memories of being thrown into Atton's arms as the bus was attacked. Remembered terror finally broke through what was left of the haziness in my brain, and my eyes fluttered open.

Atton was there, as I'd known he would be, looking absolutely awful. His eyes, wide from joyous surprise now, were red and swollen, and his hair was tangled and caked with mud. I wasn't able to take in anything else, however, because he was suddenly holding me tight and whispering in my ear. The pain the movement caused was almost more than I could bear, but I was able to force it to the back of my subconscious and listen to what Atton had to say.

"Dear God….dear God, I'd thought you weren't going to wake up! You were barely breathing…so much blood…" That last bit had me a little worried, and I forced my chapped lips to move for the first time since I'd woken.

"Blood…I was bleeding? What happened to the bus…the other students? Where are we?!" The questions poured out of me like water.

Atton released me from his hug, making the horrible pain rear up before I squashed it back down again, and gave me a strained smile.

"You hit your head on the road, but I managed to stop the bleeding with my shirt. The bus kept driving after we fell out, so it's long gone by now. I don't know where the other kids are or even where_ we_ are. Now, I've answered your questions so shush and stay still. You're wound may reopen if you try moving around."

That rushed speech was the most Atton had ever said to me at one time. I was happy about it even in my woozy state. We lapsed into a brooding silence. While I lay there, I started going over everything that had lead up to this point. My mind was still working a little slowly, but I could remember most of what happened, so I wasn't worried about any permanent brain damage.

I'd been about to prank Atton when he'd attempted a rather poor joke and I'd gotten angry. I looked out the window and saw a black car with tinted windows. This car then commenced attacking the bus. I shuddered at that all too vivid memory. Atton's arms tightened around me when I did this, making me blush slightly. Staring up at him, I was shocked at what I saw.

His hair and eyes I'd already seen, but now I realized that half of his shirt had been torn away and that the exposed flesh of his stomach was covered in ugly purple bruises. The missing section of shirt, I knew, was now wrapped around my forehead. It was the bruises and numerous shallow cuts that had me gasping, the shear agony of the motion causing my face to break out in a thin sweat. I'd always been good with pain, but this was entirely different than a few bruised knees and twisted ankles. There was no doubt in my mind that the doctors wouldn't have many good things to say about the wound on the back of my head.

"Wednesday..?" Atton questioned, a trace of the panic I'd heard before coming back into his voice. I was somehow able to maneuver my lips into the ghost of a smile.

"Don't worry about me. I'd just noticed your stomach." I was all at once curious and mortified and, despite his grunts of disapproval, I lifted a shaking hand to touch the biggest of the blotches gently with my finger tip. "Do they hurt?" His skin was ponderously cold. _I must have a fever…_

Atton glanced down with an indifferent shrug.

"I landed on my stomach pretty hard. It doesn't hurt at all, just looks bad. I didn't pass out when I hit the ground, so I was able to get up and go looking for you. You were a few feet farther down the road with your head…well you didn't look very good…" He trailed off, leaving me to picture the sight I must have been when he found me. Blood everywhere with me laying there in the middle of it all, probably not looking as if I was breathing. That explained why he'd pulled me into his lap and why he'd sounded so frightened.

A sudden thought had me looking around frantically, but we weren't sitting where he'd found me because there was no blood to be seen. It was then that I looked down at _myself_ for the first time. My clothes were torn and muddy, but not, to my relief, indecently so.

"How long have we been here?" I asked hesitantly after another minute of silence. Atton's mouth turned up in the first real grin I'd seen since before this disaster had stuck.

"Only a few minutes. A car should drive by soon and spot us, so you don't have much to fear about us being here for very long." His face grew somber. "I'm so sorry this happened, Wednesday. If I could have predicted it, I'd have made sure you hadn't stepped foot on that wretched death machine!" He spat the end out as if it were bad luck just to utter the phrase. Another memory swam to the surface.

"Atton, how's your back?" He just looked at me in blank confusion. "Your back! You hit it on the emergency door while we were still on the bus. You screamed…" I couldn't finish. The remembered sound of his cry in my ear was torturous. Comprehension slowly made itself known in his expression, which then became unreadable.

"Did I hit my back? It's all really fuzzy to me…" His eyes were looking at everything but my own, letting me know that he was hiding something, but I decided that now wasn't the time or place to press him on this. What _was_ important was the fact that both of us had made it out of this crazy situation without any fatal blows, though I had a sick feeling that mine _would_ have been had Atton gone the opposite direction while looking for me.

"Atton..?" I ventured shyly. He looked down at me with those brilliant grey eyes, a tiny smile on his face. Taking a breath to build up my courage, I continued.

"Thank you. If you hadn't been sitting next to me…well…I may not be alive right now…" The embarrassing words were hard to force out, but I managed to say them without sounding completely moronic. His lips sank into a deep frown, and his eyes became troubled.

"Wednesday, I-"But he never got to finish his sentence because, right then, a car horn blaring and the sound of wheels spinning to a stop interrupted him. Atton's left hand released its hold on my shoulder to wave at whoever was now running towards us from behind me. I dared not lift my head to get a better look for fear of the pain it would cause.

"Hey! Are you two alright? What happ- Dear Lord!" The woman, for it was a woman's voice that had spoken, had apparently just gotten an eyeful of my not so subtle wound. I could hear dialing as she continued. "I'm calling 911! She doesn't look very good at all." Talk about understatement of the year. I hadn't even seen myself yet, but if I looked as bad as I felt, I was sure "doesn't look very good" wasn't a powerful enough phrase. Atton was grinning with relief now and, though he was already close since I was in his lap, he leaned down even farther and whispered so that only I could hear.

"I told you we wouldn't have to wait long. The ambulance will be here soon, and then you'll be ok. I'll stay with you as long as they let me." I was slightly touched that he would offer to do this for a girl that he'd known for only two days. My already good impression of him grew stronger. At the same time, I felt like I needed time alone with a pen and a whole lot of blank paper. This was a tragic event and all, but one doesn't come across such good material for a short story every day. I smiled up at his dirty and scratched up face.

"Thank you. I need a favor once we get to the hospital. When they're done poking me with needles and stuff, can you find me a good black pen and a notebook?" I'd expected to be met with curiosity after making such a strange request, but he smiled in a knowing manner that I'd seen once before and nodded.

"They said they'd be here in a couple minutes. What…what _happened_?!" The woman had moved close enough for me to see her now. She was easily as tall as me, with hair the color of ripe carrots. Her designer clothes and styled curls screamed model or actress.

"Our bus went out of control and the emergency door flew open. We kinda fell out… "Said out loud, it sounded ridiculous, but it was clear by the look on her blemish-free face that she believed us.

The ambulance, mercifully, came wailing up just as the awkward silence was starting to become unbearable. Several men in blue jumpsuits and rubber gloves jumped out and ran over to us. I was carefully lifted from my place on Atton's lap onto a stretcher. The momentous pain I felt was finally too much, and I screamed. Atton was there immediately, clutching my hand and whispering to me that it would be ok. I could only barely understand him through the buzzing in my ears as I was jostled into the vehicle.

Much to my relief, the youngest looking of the three men calmly placed a mask over my mouth, filling my lungs with sedative. The last thing I heard before I sank happily into unconsciousness was Atton's promise to explain everything to my parent's when they got to the hospital. I tried to say thank you, but I was already too far gone.

Giving up, I felt the dark flood rush over me for the second time that day.

Only this time, it was welcome.

**~ok! all done with ch. 7! just so you know, i'm going through these so fast because they'd already been written. I just have to rewrite them onto the computer and then tada! new chapter!! lol. please review!!~**


	4. Chapter 8 Hospitals Are Never Fun

**Ok! This one took a while! sorry for the delay!**

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CH. 8

_Beep…_

My mind twitched, sensing a change in the void I was peacefully floating in.

_Beep…_

Irritation now.

_Beep…_

Unwillingly, I was drawn towards the steady sound as if by an invisible cord.

_Beep…Beep…Beep…_

The closer I came to the surface, the more familiar that sound became. It was a heart monitor, proclaiming to anyone within ear shot that I was indeed alive.

Slowly, starting with my toes, I began to become aware of my body. Other sounds and sensations made themselves known. First came the feel of a soft, but lumpy, pillow under my head. Then the thick warmth of a sheet and blanket. _Too warm…_My sluggish mind complained, and, with an immense feat of will, I kicked the blankets off. There was a very familiar gasp from beside me.

"Wednesday?!" Winifred breathed as I finally forced my eyelids open. Having already used all of my energy removing the blanket, I could only nod at her. Her hands fluttered to her mouth, and her eyes, much to my mute alarm, began to leak tiny glistening tears. I managed to frown and shake my head, hoping she'd understand. She seemed to, for her tears stopped and she found her voice.

"Thank God! We were all so worried! When the bus was finally able to stop safely and the driver realized that some students were missing we didn't know what to do with ourselves! No one even knows how the emergency door managed to open!" As the words flowed from her mouth, Winifred's tears came back, and she was soon bawling into my boney shoulder. We stayed that way for quite some time while my strength slowly came back to me. Finally, I felt strong enough to speak without fear of my voice cracking.

"How and where are the others?" My voice was croaky but otherwise normal. Winifred lifted her head, wiped away her tears, and answered.

"Well, it's my shift right now. The others are eating, sleeping, or, in dad's case, pacing around and muttering to themselves." I smiled weakly as she continued. "You have a pretty bad concussion, but it's not life threatening or anything. The doctor said that with lots of rest you should be fine in a few weeks." Finding out that I was going to be ok made a little bubble of happiness tug at my heart. Its life, however, was short lived.

"How long have I been out? Did anyone else get hurt?" My curiosity was getting worse as my head became clearer. The thought of others being in more deadly situations than my own had my skin crawling in dread, but Winifred smiled.

"No one was seriously injured, if that's what you're asking. A few broken bones here and there, but that's the worst of it." She glanced at her watch. "The doctors sedated you so they could run some tests to make sure your brain was intact, so it's been about three days now. Reasonable should be here any minute to take his shift." Her eyes began to twinkle mischievously. "We'll let you being awake be a surprise."

I smiled at her, feeling a little strange about all the time I'd been gone. The disorientation hadn't dissipated when my only brother walked in several minutes later. He looked tired and frazzled, just as Winifred did. I felt sad that they were wearing themselves out worrying about me. His mouth dropped open the moment he saw that my eyes were open in an expression that I'd have thought hilarious, were I not so terribly tired.

"W-Wednesday! You're awake!" Tears clouded his eyes and began to spill over as he furiously flopped my bangs around in his way of saying he was happy. Reasonable has never been a very huggy person. I grinned thinly at him and made a half-hearted attempt to bat his hand away. My attempts at making him smile worked, and he was soon filling me in on everything that had happened.

Apparently, the car had lost interest and sped off not long after Atton and I had fallen off the bus. Terrified of being attacked again, the bus driver had pulled over as soon as he was sure the car was gone. Someone was able to call 911 in all the chaos that ensued when they realized that they were short two children. I was happy to hear that the worst injury was a cracked femur. Better a broken leg than a lost life. I was also a little surprised to learn that there was a large amount of girls loitering in the waiting room, no doubt worried about Atton.

"Atton!" The name escaped my lips almost by accident. My siblings looked at me oddly while I smiled apologetically.

"I was just wondering…Is Atton ok? I mean, he was so bruised and…" I let the sentence go unfinished as my embarrassment became unbearable. Winifred exchanged a knowing glance with Reasonable before responding.

"Well, he had lots of bruises and shallow cuts, but otherwise he's just fine." I sighed in relief and lay back onto my pillow. The door opened then, before I really knew what was happening, my already shallow breath was knocked out of me.

"Oh Wednesday!! We were so…you looked awful…the doctors wouldn't…" My mother babbled unintelligibly into my ear for a few more minutes before the rest of the family could pry her off. Now able to see something other than my mom's diminutive shoulder, I smiled at my father and youngest sister. I was shocked when I realized that even Emmalea looked disheveled. Her eyeliner and lip-gloss were both slightly smudged, and her hair was escaping its braid in pointy little tuffs.

Many tears and hugs later, the doctor was able to make his way through the throng that was my family and tell me that the tests and scans had showed no real damage to my brain and that I was free to go whenever I chose. The doctor insisted that I stay off my feet as much as possible and refrain from any running or extreme sports. I laughed at that last part. Me? Do any kind of sport? Hilarious! The doctor then told me the most horrible news I'd heard since waking up.

I had to ride in a wheelchair for the next two weeks just to be safe. I frowned, unsure what rolling around in a wheelchair would do for a concussion, but the doctor explained that it was to put less strain on my body while it healed.

"Often," He said gently. "When faced with a large amount of stress and emotion, patients feel tired and skittish. On rare occasions, some even go into a type of delayed shock and collapse. We just want to avoid that as best we can."

My forehead crinkled as I took this piece of information in. It didn't sound like a medical condition, but the doctor seemed serious. Finally, I nodded and told them that it would be fine if I really had to.

"Don't worry!" My goofy brother soothed. "It'll be fine. We'll take you to school and push you to your classes and stuff!" He winked playfully. "I'll even carry your heavier school things!" Thoroughly terrified, I cast a pleading look at my mother. She giggled and patted Reasonable's shoulder.

"I think she'll be able to survive on her own just fine, sweetie."

While my family fought over this, I noticed that Winifred was staring at me with a worried frown on her face.

"What?" I asked. Her eyes cleared at the sound of my voice.

"Well, this whole time you haven't said more than ten words. Are you sure you're not in any pain? I know you don't talk much anyway, but you were thrown out of a _bus_! That couldn't possible have been-" I cut off her babbling with a wave of my hand.

"I'm just ridiculously tired is all. The crash wasn't as bad as you might think. After all, I was only off the bus for about twenty minutes before that woman found us." I pretended to look sad. "You say that I've been out for three days, but I feel as if I haven't slept in days!" That earned me a little giggle. The rest of my family, much to my amusement, was still fighting over if Reasonable could help me from place to place. Deciding that this was going nowhere fast, I spoke up.

"You guys! I'm going to be fine! Pushing a couple of wheels isn't very hard work, so calm down and check me out of this place already so we can all go home!" Everyone stopped their yelling with sheepish grins. My father spoke up for the first time in his gravelly voice.

"Of course, Wednesday. We'll have you home as soon as possible." With that, he turned and left. My father only ever had that little to say when he was truly upset. He's always been the kind of man that keeps his emotions in check. I got that from him.

The room lapsed into an only slightly awkward silence while we waited for dad to return. I took the opportunity to lay my head back against the pillow and rest my eyes.

When I woke again, I was being gently passed from my father's arms into the back seat of the family van. I smiled and allowed my head to fall onto Emmalea's lap.

I wouldn't wake up again until, hours later, we reached our newest home.

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**yay!! ch. 8 is finally done!! i really hope you enjoy the next chapter because i know i will!!! i'll only say that it's my favorite chapter so far! i'm sure that i'll have new favorites in the near future, but i have yet to write them! lol please review!!**


	5. Chapter 9 Freedom At Last!

**Ok. Well CH. 9 was supposed to be realy exciting but it was getting so long that I just had to cut it in half. Don't worry folks! I'm updating ch. 10 right after this one so you won't have any crazy waiting to do. please bear with me for just a little longer!**

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CH. 9

The next two weeks crawled by with a sickening slowness, what with my brother insisting on pushing me around, my now officially non-existent social life, and my loads and loads of homework. By the time the doctor announced that I would be allowed to walk on my own in two days, I was about to snap.

"Did you hear that, honey? Only two days left!" My mother cried as she threw her tiny arms around me. I could only grin and hug her back, too happy for words.

"Dang…no more driving you crazy…" Reasonable's very fake pouting had me laughing out right. Laughter that turned into annoyed grunting when he started ruffling my bangs. Rosalinda, the least talkative of my family, was sitting in the corner of the room with her nose stuck in a book. The oldest and most closed in of the triplets, Rosalinda has never had many friends. That's just the way she likes it.

When the good news had been given, she'd glanced up through her black bangs and given me one of her rare grins, letting me know in her silent way that she was glad for me. I loved Rosalinda dearly, but sometimes the way she ghosted around weirded me out. She wasn't depressed though. She just saw the world as words on paper, rather than physical experiences.

Two more days.

Little bubbles of joy blossomed in my chest as my mind wrapped itself around the idea of being out of the wheel chair. My head had stopped hurting after the first few days, and the dizziness had dissipated only a couple days after that, yet they had insisted that I stay in that horrible machine.

"…don't you think, Wednesday? Wednesday?" I blinked, pulled from my inner ramblings, and looked up at my mother.

"Wah..?" I smiled sheepishly as my mother slapped her forehead.

"I said, it will be nice to be able to walk on your own two feet. Don't you think, Wednesday?" Laughing at her indignant expression, I nodded.

It would be amazing.

School the next day was more hectic than usual since Mrs. Davis's class was preparing for the field trip to the forests on the outskirts of Shadyview in 24 hours. To be honest, I thought it was silly that a health class was going to the woods, but I didn't voice these opinions. No school was no school.

"Wednesday!" Atton's voice reached my ears from across the classroom. I glanced up from the worksheet I was working on to smile at him. The first time I'd seen him after the accident, he'd looked completely different. Or was it the same? It was as if the crash had only happened to me and I'd imagined that Atton had been there.

He skirted around the wheel chair that I'd abandoned in the corner of the classroom and stopped in front of my desk, all while grinning hugely. I still got light headed whenever he did that, but I usually stuffed those kinds of feelings into the back of my mind where they couldn't bother me.

"I just heard that you would be out of your wheel chair tomorrow! That's so great!" His grin slipped just a little and he muttered something darkly under his breath. I could only make out what sounded like, "…tomorrow of all days…", but that didn't seem right to me, so I passed it off as my imagination. I found myself beaming back at him as I answered.

"Yeah! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still! I can't wait to be up and moving around for real!" He laughed at my enthusiasm and went back to the group of girls he'd been surrounded by before. I was more than a little pleased that he had gone out of his way to speak to me.

Turning my attention once again back to my worksheet, I realized that I had only finished three of the twenty problems and turned to stare at the clock on the wall. Only ten minutes left in first period and I hadn't done any of the work that was due later that day. Shaking my head at my own procrastination, I forced myself back to the task at hand.

Most of my classes passed by in this fashion. I'd begin my work, intent on finishing it, only to have the bell ring and still have half of it undone. My anticipation of the next day was too mind consuming for me to keep focused on anything else for long. Luckily, we had a sub in eighth so I needn't have worried about the worksheet.

"Wednesday…" I was at the bus stop now, waiting for Angela so I could see her off. School had passed by so fast I almost felt dizzy.

Turning towards the familiar voice, I asked. "Yea, Angela?" Angela and I had become much closer over the last two weeks. She was now the only true friend I had other than Atton. After two weeks of knowing him, I still wasn't sure if we were really friends or not, what with Jamie's less than subtle hatred of me and his hordes of female followers shadowing his every movement.

"Are you gonna sit with me or Atton tomorrow?" At my blank expression, she hurried on. "You know, on the way to the woods?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed as comprehension set in. "I'll sit with you, of course!" Giggling over my lack of brains, I bid her farewell and she climbed onto her bus. Now I had to wheel myself to the parking lot to be driven home by my oldest siblings. Somehow, knowing I wouldn't have to do it ever again made the effort of pushing my wheels 300 yards enjoyable. I even sang to myself as I did so.

"…Seemed to stop my breath! My head on your chest waiting to cave in..." As The Used played merrily through my mind and out my lips, I spotted the tiny red car and its passengers waiting for me. Winifred started the engine when she caught site of me and covered the small distance that was left between us.

"Hey guys! How was school?" I inquired as I stepped from my chair so that Reasonable, who had slid out of the back to let me in, could wedge it into the trunk. The car was more trunk space than anything else, and the chair could be compressed to be more portable, but it still only barely fit.

"Good…" Rosalinda murmured from behind her newest manga. Manga are Japanese comics. Rosalinda and I are the only ones in our family that enjoy them. I glanced at the covered curiously. When had she gotten a hold of the latest _Naruto_ volume? I'd have to beg it off of her later.

"Come on, come on, lazy!" Reasonable pretended to scold while gently shoving me towards the backdoor. Shoving back playfully, I did as he asked and slid across the seat to the other side, allowing him to sit down next to me and slam the door closed. The car took on a comfy atmosphere as we sank into silence.

Once home, we filed out and left each other's company to do the various chores our parents had assigned us to do that day. Mine, fortunately, was simply to empty the dishwasher and straighten the living room. I knew all too well that there were worse chores to be done. After completing these, I locked myself in my room and threw myself onto my bed with a contented sigh.

"No more wheel chair! No more wheel chair!" I sang to myself as I lay there with my face resting on my only stuffed animal. Peggy the panda bear had seen many years of love since she was given to me on the day I was born. It's the only link I have to my real mother. She gave me up to adoption when I was two years old and harassed the caretaker until the frazzled old woman promised to try and get my new parents, whoever they were, to let me keep it. The woman I now refer to lovingly as "Mom" was happy to oblige, saying that a child my age deserved to keep something of her only true family.

As if she could sense my thoughts, my mother's questioning knock broke the silence. Not bothering to move, I called out that she could come in, and the door creaked open.

"Hi, sweetie! I was wondering if you were up to going out for a sundae with the others." Mom's eyes held the same questioning note that her knock had, letting me know that it was my decision. It didn't take much thought to come to a conclusion.

"No, thanks. I was actually planning on going to bed early if you didn't mind me skipping dinner." Her eyebrows furrowed at the mention of my not eating, and she asked worriedly, "Are you alright? Do you feel sick?" Mom's hands fluttered to my forehead.

"No, mom, I just want tomorrow to come as quickly as possible. All this excitement is tiring me out!" I mimicked Winifred's voice as best I could, pleased when I saw that my lack of comedic abilities smoothed the worry lines from my mother's forehead.

"Well, eating won't make it come any faster. You will report for dinner at six o'clock and then you may sleep as long as you like." My mother said in an imitation of a drill sergeant that was even worse than my own, making us both laugh hysterically. After several jokes at each other's expense, my mother left with a wave of her hand and one final giggle.

After dinner that night, I excused myself and made my way upstairs to my private sanctuary. I mean, my room. My bed was waiting for me just the way I'd left it. Un-made and still missing its decorative pillows. Quickly changing into my Happy Bunny pajamas, I slid under the covers with a tiny sigh. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

I had no idea at the time just how big.

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**Thanks once again to Javan and all the others who hav stayed with me throughout my story's short life! woah! that almost sounded like the story was about to end! lol! it's not i promise!! **


	6. Chapter 10 More Unexpected Happenings

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CH. 10

The consistently annoying alarm clock woke me up at 6:30 sharp.

"Ugh…" I groaned to myself as I forced my eyes to open and my aching body to sit up. How could sleeping longer than usual make you feel _more_ tired? Slapping at the snooze button with one hand to shut the little machine up, I rubbed wearily at my burning eyes.

_No more wheel chair! _

As the happy realization pushed its way to the front of my mind, a little of my energy from the day before returned. With a new bounce in my step, I pulled on my skinny jeans and my favorite Goth-o-licious shirt. The bathroom had already been stolen by Emmalea, but I didn't mind since I knew she'd be out again looking perfect in ten minutes. I burned through the few minutes of waiting by scarfing down a bowl of fruity pebbles. Emmalea walked through the door just as I was sitting the bowl and spoon in the sink. After a nod of acknowledgement in her direction, I hurried into the now open bathroom.

My hair was surprisingly obedient today so I was actually able to style it into a respectable shape and brush my teeth before Winifred and Rosalinda started tapping impatiently on the door frame. Well, Winifred tapped impatiently. Rosalinda just kind of stood there, her nose already stuck in a book. _That reminds me…_

"Rosalinda? Can I borrow that Naruto you were reading yesterday?" She frowned at me, probably annoyed that I'd seen her reading it, but nodded slightly before casting her gaze towards the printed words before her once again. She really doesn't read as much as might think. She doesn't read at all when she's at school because she thinks it's a distraction from learning.

"Wait…" I paused with one foot poised to take my next step. "…I need shoes…" Sure enough, when I looked down, my feet were still bare. _What's with me and forgetting my footwear?_ Frustrated with my lack of an attention span, I turned around and rummaged through my small pile of shoes for a moment before settling on my black combat boots. If I was going to be hiking through mud and leaves, I'd have to be wearing something that'll keep my toes dry. That done, I made my way down the stairs and, for the first time in two weeks, followed my sister down our drive and onto the bus.

Atton was sitting in the far back of the bus this time. Upon seeing me, he began waving good-naturedly at me to come and join him. Smiling at his hospitality, I slid into the seat. He was wearing an uncharacteristic amount of camouflage today, no doubt because of the fieldtrip. He'd even sprayed green onto the tips of his otherwise black hair. On any other boy, it would've looked ridiculous, but somehow Atton was able to pull it off.

"Morning, Atton. Man, it's good to be riding the bus again." Atton didn't return my smile this time. Instead he stared at me through his glossy bangs, his eyes unreadable. As the silence lengthened, his gaze became more intense, as if he were looking for something in my facial expression. I felt as if I was drowning in an ocean of greys. Whatever he saw, it seemed to satisfy him because he looked away at last and asked, "Even after what happened..?"

Letting go of the breath I hadn't been aware I'd been holding, I answered in a slightly breathless voice. "Yea…anything is better than riding in the triplet's tiny little car…" A faint smile touched the corners of his lips as he registered my weak attempt at humor, but then it was gone and his face was once again serious. I'd never once seen him so unhappy.

"Wednesday…will you hang out with me today?" The request was as random as it was surprising. Wasn't Jamie going to be with him? I asked as much out loud, and he shook his head.

"No, she's…sick." Atton hesitated for a moment before finishing the sentence; making me wonder if that was really true.

"Um…well I promised Angela that I'd stay with her, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind an extra member to the group." I mimicked a serious voice. "You'll have to promise not to let any of your worshipers bother us, though!" It worked. Atton laughed for the first time that morning just as the bus pulled into the school.

The commons area was absolutely packed when we walked inside. The entire 10th and 11th grade was going on the field trip today. A whopping 350 students! They were dividing us up into groups of fifty with three teachers per group. Fortunately, we were allowed to choose our own groups, and Atton and I were soon standing next to Angela waiting to be reloaded back onto a bus.

Twenty hectic minutes later, Angela and I were sharing a seat and Atton was directly in front of us. Twisting around in his seat to better see us, he addressed Angela curiously.

"I don't speak to you often, do I?" Angela's ears reddened a little on the tips but she was able to answer calmly.

"Nope, but that's ok. Nobody can be friends with _all_ the girls in school, right?" Her teasing succeeded in making him chuckle.

"No, but I do try my best. So are you two looking forward to this?" His eyes rested on me, though he was speaking to both of us. Unable to trust myself to answer coherently when he looked at me like that, I just nodded. _What's wrong with you? He asked a simple question! No need to get all girly about it!_ The tiny voice in the back of my head chided me.

"Yea! This is going to be so cool!" That was Angela, never missing a beat. Not wanting to seem as if something was wrong, I forced myself to speak.

"Ha! Nature is pretty any everything, but I'm definitely not looking forward to all the mosquitoes! All those little bugs sucking your blood away! Gross!" I made a mock gagging sound, earning a hearty guffaw from Angela. When no reaction presented itself from Atton, I looked up at him. He was looking down at his clenched fists with a pained look on his face. Without my permission, my left hand reached out to rest on his.

"Atton..? What's wrong?" His eyes flickered up at us, the pained expression immediately disappearing.

"I'm fine! What are you talking about?" His grin was sincere enough for me to let it, and his hand, go. Angela, to my horror, was shifting a knowing look from Atton to me and back again. The last thing I needed was someone thinking I had feelings for Atton, which I didn't. …What? I mean it!

Our conversation lasted the whole time we were on the bus. I noticed after a while that the closer we got to our destination, the more forced Atton's grin seemed to become. This perplexed me to no end, but I decided that whatever was troubling him wasn't my business.

Ten minutes later, our group's bus pulled into its designated area. Did I mention that each group was exploring a different part of the forest?

"Wow…" Was all I could say as I took in the immense amount of green that stretched out before me. Angela bumped my shoulder in agreement. "It's beautiful, isn't it? This is my absolute favorite part of the forests. I used to come here as a child with my dad…" She trailed off, a tiny reminiscent smile curving the corners of her lips. According to Angela, her father had died when she was seven years old of lung cancer.

I glanced at Atton, wondering what his take on this scene was, but he didn't look in awe. The expression I caught dancing in his eyes was something akin to panic. My stomach clenched into tight knots at the sight of it, and, feeling as if I were intruding in something private, I looked away and back at the natural beauty around me. The forests didn't deserve the abuse they would be given by the many students that would be trampling around in it all day.

"You guys…" Atton spoke up for the first time since leaving the bus as we began to follow the main group towards the hiking trail. We both turned slightly to direct our attention at him. To my relief, his panicked expression had been replaced by a serious frown. "I've been here before. It's not safe from all the rains we get this time of year. I think we should all stick together as best we can, ok?"

We were a little curious, but never the less, we agreed and continued following the other students.

Two hours later, we reached a small glade. Mr. Davis, for that was our group leader, proposed that we all take a break before moving on. Several students three feet away from us whooped at this news, pulled out a hacky sack, and started bouncing it to each other with their feet. One of them was less than skilled because, when it was his turn to kick it, he kicked it far into the woods beside him. The other three boys groaned and slapped his shoulder in annoyance.

"Go get it!" Demanded Boy One.

"Are you crazy? I'm not going anywhere in there! There are snakes!" Boy Two yelled back at him. I rolled my eyes at the sky and, after giving them a pointed glare, stepped into the woods in search of the lost hacky sack. I didn't have to go far before I saw it, nestled in a nook between two branches of a sapling.

As I turned to leave, a soft giggle floated to my ears from behind me. Startled, I dropped the tiny bean bag and searched in every direction for the source of the sound. Another giggle, more breathless this time. _It's coming from the left… _

Convinced it was Angela trying to scare me, I followed the sound as silently as I could. After twenty feet, I began to hear other sounds. Footsteps, the rustle of clothing. I smiled triumphantly, sure that I'd just beat Angela at her own game, but I had to make this fun. Slowly, I kneeled down and peered through a large bush.

With a shock, I saw that the woman I heard wasn't Angela and that she wasn't alone. There was a man with her. He was tall, with hair so silver it almost shone in the faint sunlight that was filtering through the canopy of branches above us. There was a strange timelessness to his features that made it hard to tell how old he was. The woman's face was buried in the man's shoulder, so I had no idea what she looked like, but her bright sundress clashed oddly with his black suit. The man was busy kissing her neck tenderly, his left hand holding her to him while his right tangled in her hair. The woman's arms were hanging limply at her sides.

I frowned. _Something doesn't seem right…_My rational side spoke up. Squinting, I stared at where he was kissing her. There was a very thin line of something dark trickling from one corner of his lips. With a sick feeling, a horrible idea came to mind. _Blood…Was he actually _drinking_ her blood?! _As if in answer, the man abruptly pulled away from the woman, exposing the gaping wound there. I stifled a terrified gasp as his gaze slowly turned from the now unconscious woman in his arms to the bush I was hiding behind.

I couldn't move for fear he'd know I was there, though it seemed as if he already did. Slowly, so slowly, his lips pulled back in a gruesome snarl, revealing two very lethal looking teeth that sparkled in the light even more than his hair seemed to.

Before anything else could happen, a strong hand closed firmly around my mouth.

I didn't even get a chance to scream.

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**ok!! this one is my favorite chapter! lol. i'd ment for ch. 9 and ch. 10 to be all one chapter but what can you do? I think this ended up for the best anyway. Please enjoy! you finally got some of the vampire awesomeness i promised u!! yayay!! please review kindly!**


	7. Chapter 11 Confusion

Ch. 11

Terror held me in a tight grip as I was pulled backward by the unseen danger behind me. Whoever, or whatever, it was had my arms pinned uselessly to my sides, making it virtually impossible to struggle.

I was so caught up in my fear that I didn't realize until the attacker abruptly let go which direction we were going. Glancing at the ground in front of me, I recognized the abandoned hacky sack and the tree that it had been lodged in.

"You're such an idiot, Wednesday…" The words were soft, emotionless, but I still gave a start. _That voice…_Whirling around, I laid eyes on my kidnapper for the first time.

Atton.

He was standing a foot away from where he'd left me, his face turned so that I couldn't see it. His hands and arms, too strong to be so skinny, were folded stiffly across his chest.

"Atton, I-"But Atton interrupted me with that same lifeless voice.

"You promised you'd stay with me while we were here. Do you have any idea what you've witnessed? The council will find out soon…what hell there'll be to pay…" His voice became quieter and quieter as he spoke until it became an almost inaudible mumble. His cryptic words confused me, but the relief of knowing I was safe was too great for me to put much thought into it.

Several minutes of tense silence passed by.

All the while I was staring at him, willing for him to speak or look at me. _Anything! _

Eventually, he did. Taking a deep breath and letting it shutter out, Atton at last met my eyes. The defeated look that danced within those grey depths was almost worse than the emptiness they'd held before.

"We should go back…The others will be wondering what's happened to us…" To be honest, with all that had just happened, I'd forgotten all about the field trip and Angela. Nodding my agreement, I stood with him and let him guide the way, only pausing for a brief moment to scoop up that accursed hacky sack. As we neared the group and voices started drifting towards us, a thought occurred to me.

"Atton…how did you find me?" With that question came the others that had been repeating themselves in my mind since Atton had dragged me away from that horrific scene. "Was that man really _eating_ that woman? Why did she just stand there and _let_ him? I don't understand what's happened!" My hands began to shake a little with remembered terror as the scene replayed itself in my mind. "Did that man...really know I was there?"

Atton had stopped a foot or two ahead of me when I'd spoken up, and now that dead look had returned. Two steps brought him close enough that he could wrap his arms around me gently.

"I found you simply by following the footprints you left in the mud. You're other questions…" He began, his own voice a little quivery, "I…I can't tell you anything right now, but, believe me, I want to. You have a right to know after…what you saw." He faltered for a moment, as if he didn't know how to word what he was trying to say, but then he continued. "I'm so sorry, Wednesday…So, so sorry…but you can't tell anyone about this. Not even your family. You'd…well let's just say that it wouldn't be a good idea."

Pulling slightly away from his comforting embrace, I stared up at him. Atton didn't let go, only loosened his arms, while he waited for my response. It occurred to me, while I opened my mouth to speak, that Atton truly was a good guy. It was obvious that he knew more than he was telling, he'd even _admitted_ it just now, but at least he was sorry about it, which is more than most people I've met would be.

"Dude…you really think I'd tell people about this? Even my own family would think I was nuts and lecture me about not stepping on the mushrooms in a forest because their spores could make you hallucinate." I shook my head to rid myself of the image of my family crowded around me looking all worried about my 'incident'. Atton's face relaxed, and, after a brief laugh at what I'd said, he let me go and walked through the few bushes that still cut us off from the rest of the student body. _I wonder…_I thought as I followed suit. _…what Jamie would think if she knew he'd held me, even if it was just to calm me down?_

The grin that spread on my face then was only a little evil.

"Wednesday! What took you so long? We had to send Atton to search for you!" That was Angela, looking relieved and annoyed all at the same time. Shrugging in her direction, I tapped the shoulder of the boy who'd been afraid to go get the hacky sack himself and displayed my prize.

"Whoa! You actually found it!" All too glad to be rid of the thing, I dropped it into his outstretched hand.

"Oooh! Had to have a _girl_ to the dirty work for ya, did you? You're such a scaredy-cat!" Watching the resulting battle of insults, the true knowledge that my life may have been in grave danger sank in, making me shutter. Casting a surreptitious glance trough my bangs, I studied Atton's face. He was gazing off in the direction we'd come, his expression a mixture of fear and anger. _What does he know about this that he's not telling me?_ I couldn't help but wonder if he'd known that that man was out there.

"Alright kids! Time to move on!" Mr. Davis's voice caught me by surprise just as I was about to ask Atton what he was looking at. Promising myself I would ask him later when we had a moment alone, I followed the flow of students to the next part of the forest.

The rest of the day was beautiful but tedious and dirty. By the time we made it to the end of the trail and back to the bus, my pants and combat boots were completely covered in mud from my ankles down. I also noticed that my knees were a little muddy as well from kneeling behind the bushes during that horrific encounter.

Atton was silent and sat facing forward during the ride back home. I wanted him to turn around, let me know what was wrong, but I knew he didn't know me well enough to trust me with his troubles. _Besides,_ I scolded myself,_ none of that would have happened if you'd just let those boys argue!_

When we reached the school, he picked up the backpack that he carried everywhere he went, and walked off of the bus without so much as a glance in my direction. The sudden change in the way he was treating me had me worried. I didn't have time to dwell on those worries, though, because my mother began at that moment to honk the horn from where she'd parked. Flushing pale white from embarrassment, I snatched up my own bag and rushed to meet her before she could honk a second time.

The drive home was far from quiet, as it had been on the bus. Winifred, who was sitting in the front seat when I slid into the back, immediately began throwing questions at me about the trip. Was it fun? Did I run into any poison ivy? What are the woods like here? Did anything interesting happen?

I answered as honestly as I could, and when I couldn't I did my best to give half truths. I couldn't lie to my sister outright without feeling ridiculously guilty about it.

The moment my feet hit the ground of our driveway, my only goal was to reach my room without hindrance. Miraculously, I made it and, with the door securely locked and my music turned up almost as loud as it would go, I was finally able to sit on my bed and let all my bottled up fear and confusion free.

Unable and unwilling to stop my trembling, I lay there and let them run their course. An hour later, I was out cold on my bed, sweaty from excursion and still dressed in my muddy clothes.

When I woke, moonlight was shining dimly through the cracks in the side of my window and someone had put a blanket over me. Pushing it aside groggily, I sat up and rubbed the sleepy from my eyes. From the way my limbs were buzzing, I knew there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.

Searching in the dim light of the moon, I was able to find my little book light and the most recent addition to my book collection, _Wicked Lovely._ Tucking myself into a tiny ball on the corner of my bed, I opened to where I'd left off and began reading. To this day I don't know how long I sat there before I noticed the very light tapping on my window, but once I did I couldn't get the sound out of my head.

Grunting to myself about stupid trees and long reaching branches, I dog-eared my page and crawled out of bed to inspect the sound. Before I was even halfway to my destination, a thought came to me, making me freeze in place. _There aren't any trees on this side of the house…_A sudden and deep-rooted terror of what might be outside my window twisted my stomach into knots and caused my heart to pound. As if on cue, the tabbing stopped and it was silent once again.

After a moment of silent listening, I concluded that the sound wasn't there anymore and very slowly began edging forward again. Carefully, holding my breath, I lifted one side of the sheet I'd nailed over my window a fraction of an inch, widening the gap already there.

Nothing. No one was there.

Confused, I pulled the sheet back farther, searching the pale darkness of our backyard for any sign of what could have been tapping my window. A shadow near the swing our home's previous owner had left behind caught my eye. It stood out, several shades darker than the shadows surrounding it. Stifling a gasp of shock, I watched as the man-shaped shadow turned silently and swiftly and moved with a speed unlike anything I'd ever seen across our yard and out of sight.

I stood there for a long time, unable to move, as the sky brightened slowly from dark black to light grey. Finally, my muscles protesting when I did from staying in one position so long, I let the sheet fall and moved to my dresser to choose that day's outfit. I didn't pay much attention to what I put on; only checking quickly to make sure it was all black.

In my time standing at the window, I'd been able to come to one, and only one, conclusion.

I was going to make Atton tell me everything he knew today if I had to beat it out of him.

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**OK!!! I'M FINALLY DONE!! I had writer's block for so long i was afraid i'd never be able to finish the darn chapter! but i fittled around just having fun making the charactor's do silly things until inspiration hit me in the form of my pet dog! she scared the crap out of me because i only saw her shadow out of the corner of my eye and then the idea just seemed obvious!! hope you like!!! shout outs to all my number one fans! i'm so happy to have this up i don't know what to do with myself!**


	8. Chapter 12 Why Won't The Confusion Stop?

Ch. 12

He wasn't there.

I spent the short trip to school hoping that he had merely gotten a ride from his family, but that hope was bashed when I made it to first period and his seat was empty.

As the day went on, I searched the halls and cafeteria in vain. Atton wasn't anywhere to be found.

Thoroughly depressed and angry, I took my lunch tray outside and slumped onto my usual bench. While I'd been in my wheelchair, various people would hold the door open for me to go in and out. The freedom of walking through the door on my own still wasn't enough to release the knotted tension in my stomach.

Unable to make myself eat the questionable spaghetti on my plate, I scowled off into the light woods that surrounded this side of the school. As I watched a beetle climb up one of the school's newly planted saplings, I ran over everything that had happened the day before and the night that followed.

My brow furrowed as I thought of the strange shadow I'd seen in my back yard. I still hadn't convinced myself if I believed that that had actually happened or not. It was yet another puzzle I would force Atton to give me the answer to. _If only he were here! _

Furious, I stood and started walking, throwing my tray quickly into the trash bin one of the kinder students had brought out for me as I passed it.

I don't know how long I walked or how far, only that when I finally ran out of steam, the light woods had become a thick forest. Exhausted and mentally slapping my forehead for my stupidity, I sank onto the trunk of a fallen tree.

Panting, I examined my surroundings for the first time since I left my bench. I was in a tiny little circle of grass, surrounded by trees on every side. My footprints were clear on the soft ground, calming my fear of not being able to get back to the school.

"This is nice…" I muttered to myself. "Maybe I'll come back later when school is-"A sudden explosion of sound from a branch that hung a few feet above my head interrupted me, causing me to scream and dive for my life. When several minutes had passed without anything else happening, I lifted my head and searched for what had terrified me. The branch was bare except for a few scratches near where the sounds had come from.

_Just a bird…_The immense relief that spread through my heart had me laughing at myself. The fear and tension of the last half month finally caught up to me in that moment. My relieved laughter became hysterical giggles that raked my chest and brought tears to my eyes. The laughter soon choked in my throat and my pained tears became uncontrollable sobs.

Curling into a tight ball on the forest floor, I lay there and cried until my tears ran out and my back ached.

When I was calm enough to sit up, the sunlight filtering through the canopy above me had dimmed and the air had grown chilly.

Not bothering to brush the leaves out of my hair and clothes, I stood and followed my fading footprints back the way I'd come.

I'd only been walking for twenty minutes when the feeling that I wasn't alone made itself known. Telling myself it was nothing, I forced my tired legs to move a little faster. The sense of being watched only became stronger.

Now I could hear footsteps.

_Just your imagination! Just your imagination!_ I repeated the words over and over in my mind like a prayer as I broke out into an all out sprint. The quiet pounding behind me sped up too, becoming louder and heavier with every step, forcing me to believe that it was real.

_"_Oh, _come on_! This is just getting ridiculous!" The fevered thoughts, tainted with fear and excursion, flew out of my mouth with an intensity that surprised me. My feet slowed for a split second before picking up again, but that was all my pursuer needed.

A thin, deathly pale hand flashed into my periphery before something was shoved over my head and I was ripped to a painful halt. Crushed to a boney chest, I was pulled sideways with shocking speed.

My capture was speaking, low and fast, in a guttural language I'd never heard before. I focused on his voice, using it as a tether to consciousness. Passing out now would almost certainly be the death of me, if not by the man dragging me then by suffocation.

Without my sight to judge the light of the sun or the forest around us, I had no idea how long or far we traveled this way, the man muttering to himself and me being yanked along beside him.

After what seemed like a long, long time, I was released in an undignified heap. The ground beneath me was smooth and cool against my hands as I lay there, afraid even to breathe too loudly.

"She still draws breath, at least…I'm having trouble believing you would find her so soon and far out in the forest..." The feathery voice came from somewhere to my right. I held as still as possible, not wanting whoever it was to feel the need to hurt me. My capture's boney hands, gentle this time, closed around my upper arms and lifted me to my feet.

I stood there, my legs so weak from stress that I feared they'd give out. A new, smaller pair of hands straightened my shirt down from where it had been shoved up, exposing a large section of my stomach, and removed the fabric over my head at last.

The owner of the hands was tiny, no taller than my shoulders, and was wearing an ash grey suit. A strange silver symbol etched into her collar caught my attention. I squinted at it, trying to make sense of all the intricate swirls and letters.

"Don't bother, dear." The voice that came from the girl's lips didn't quite fit her diminutive form. My eyes widened as they traveled up to her face, taking in the beautiful Asian features and deep-set grey eyes. The same exact shade as Atton's. She continued as I gaped, "No human could understand the meaning of our family crest."

_No human…?_

"Why are you talking to her, Sakuya? You know very well what our decision may be." It was the feathery voice again and, now that I could see, I turned slightly to see its owner. The man standing closest to me was tall and pale, his face twisted into an annoyed frown that was directed at Sakuya. I couldn't pay attention to him long, however, because it was then that I saw the rest of them. There were at least 15 men and women standing in a large half circle, all wearing the same grey suit and symbol.

All but one of them had the same piercing grey eyes.

I stared at the man in the center of the half-moon. He looked the same as the others, what with his silver suit and tall, skinny frame, but his eyes were a shade of blue so brilliant it hurt my eyes to look at them for more than a few seconds at a time. To avoid doing just that, I turned my attention to where we were.

The ground, or rather floor, I was standing on was a huge oval of marble surrounded by dense forest. The only "furniture" a huge table that curved around the edge of the oval with a number of tall chairs on one side. It seemed as if both the table and the chairs were made of the same marble as the floor.

"What do you want from me?!" The question popped out of my mouth without my permission, and I quickly clamped a hand over my lips to silence myself. The feathery-voiced man transferred his scowl from Sakuya to me.

"For now, child, we simply wish to hear in your own words what you witnessed yesterday."

I stared at him blankly, my frazzled mind unable to comprehend what he was asking of me. The man sighed heavily, apparently put out that he would have to explain himself.

"Will it make things easier if I introduce the council?" At my continued silence, he went on. "Very well, I am twentieth chair, Mavrik Bricks." My ears pricked up as I heard his last name. Mavrik fluttered his hands gently at Sakuya.

"This is nineteenth chair, Sakuya." I turned to stare at her for a second, wanting to ask her how old she was, but Mavrik was already going on.

"Chairs eighteen through fifteen, Adam, Theodore, Selena, and…" As he named off every one there, each giving a nod or regal wave as their name and chair number was called, my mind reeled with questions.

_Where am I? Who are these people? It this some kind of cult? Why did they kidnap me? _

As the last question made itself known, my eyes drew unbidden to rest on my abductor. The man standing behind me was just as thin and boney as I had imagined he would be. His face was the first I'd seen that actually had wrinkles, though he certainly didn't _look_ old. His features held the same timeless beauty that all the others did. He didn't look up from his mutterings as I studied him, but I had a feeling his eyes would be the same shade of brilliant ocean grey.

"And this is first chair, Amilio Bricks." Mavrik's voice became louder and my attention was brought back to the people in front of me. The blue-eyed man stepped forward from his place and looked at me with cool calculation.

"Thank you for the introductions, Mavrik. I believe I will take it from here." Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck when Amilio spoke. His was a voice that demanded attention and obedience.

Mavrik stepped into his place immediately, followed closely by Sakuya and the man whose name I'd paid no attention to when it'd been told to me. He stopped next to the woman named Selena, so I could only assume that he was the fifteenth chair.

"Now, child. Tell us your name." There could be no denying a cold stare like Amilio's.

"W-Wednesday…sir…" I wasn't sure as to what I should call him, only that I needed to call him _something. _If these people were willing to kidnap me, they were willing to kill me, too.

His mouth twitched in own corner. "Your name is Wednesday, or you'll tell me on Wednesday?" I had a feeling he was making a bad joke, but I was too caught up in my terror to think it funny.

"My name is Wednesday, Sir…why have you brought me here?" His lips twitched again, more noticeably this time. I held my breath, hoping that he was amused and not thinking of ways to best get rid of me.

"We heard you saw something quite strange, yesterday." _Ah…He avoided the question…_The longer I stood there, the more clear my mind was becoming, allowing my analytical side to come out.

"I saw a man…kissing a woman…" I flinched inwardly, hating how obvious the lie sounded to my ears. Amilio's eyes narrowed slightly. He knew I was lying, too.

"Are you sure, child? That's what you saw?" I started to nod, but realized that there really wasn't any point in lying about it.

"I saw a man biting a woman's neck. He…his face was covered in…there was blood…her neck had this huge hole…" I squeezed my eyes shut against the memory, unable to make myself continue. A slender hand patted my shoulder gently.

"It's alright, child." I started, my eyes flying open, when Amilio's voice sounded from directly beside me. Gasping I looked from where he'd been standing not seconds ago, thirty feet away, and at where he was standing now. A few chuckles drifted to me from the long line of strangers.

"You laid eyes on a terrible thing yesterday…I'm truly sorry that you had to go through such a fearful and undoubtedly confusing ordeal." Amilio's eyes were gentle now, compassionate, and it suddenly wasn't so hard to look at them anymore.

Not letting go of my shoulder, Amilio turned and motioned at Sakuya, who stepped forward obediently.

"It is time. Please watch her while the rest of the council deliberates." Sakuya's face twisted for a brief moment into a scowl of annoyance that would have sent Mavrik's running before becoming expressionless.

With a slow wink that had me frowning in confusion, Amilio let me go and followed the others as they disappeared into the trees. Sakuya gestured at the chair next to her while she made herself comfortable in her own.

"This may take a while, so you might as well relax for a bit, dear." Her voice, so adult sounding for a person that looked so young, was soft. Not wanting to make her angry with me, I did as she suggested.

"So your name is Wednesday?" She asked after a minute or two. I nodded, a little relieved that she'd spoken first.

"M-my parents think it's prettier than Thursday but not as lazy as Friday." I rattled off what my parent's had told me and what I had told others without putting thought into it. She laughed, a high birdlike chirp that somehow had me laughing, too. Laughing at how ridiculous a moment like this was. Sitting in a marble chair with a woman that had, along with her friends, had me kidnapped just to hear what I'd seen the day before.

After several more bad jokes concerning my name, I finally had the courage to ask, "So…are you all related? Is Atton part of your family?" I instantly regretted my questions when Sakuya's whole body tensed.

"You…know Atton?" Wanting desperately to calm her, I hastily muttered a nonsense response.

"Just from school! I mean…he pushed my wheelchair around sometimes and he saved my life after the crash and he sometimes says hello in the halls and…" She cut me off with a slow wave of her hand, her body releasing its rigidity. I let out a relieved sigh, happy that the potential danger seemed to have passed. This time, when we started chatting again, I was careful not to ask questions I thought might upset her.

I noticed after a good half hour had pasted that our conversation seemed to be mostly about me. By the time the other "council members" came back, I'd unconsciously told Sakuya almost everything about my life.

"We have decided." Amilio announced, his voice once again demanding and firm. "Rather than loose her life, Wednesday will become our newest inductee."

"What?! Amilio, you can't be serious! No one becomes an inductee at her age!" That was Sakuya, on her feet now and actually _yelling_ at Amilio. I stared at them, completely lost. I liked the "rather than loose her life" part, but Sakuya wasn't done.

"You of all people should know-"

"ENOUGH!" The force of Amilio's voice knocked Sakuya onto her backside. I'd have been sharing the same fate were I not already sitting in the chair. His voiced was deadly soft when he continued. "You know better than to speak against me, Sakuya. You will learn your place or leave this council. This child holds an immense power inside her that has yet to be awakened! Don't tell me you have not felt it!"

Sakuya merely watched him, her eyes and expression unreadable.

"Wednesday." I jumped, a tiny cry escaping my throat, as Mavrik spoke my name from behind me. His mouth was set in a thin line against his pale face as he gazed down at me.

"It's late now and high time you slept. All will be explained when you awake." He held his hand out to me as he spoke, trying unsuccessfully to look soothing. Instead of answering, I turned my sight to rest on the sky above. A thousand winking stars greeted me. _I've been gone the whole day…are they ever going to let me go?_

A deep-rooted despair latched onto my heart as I realized for the first time that these crazy people may never let me see my family again. Judging by the strength of the frailest of them, there wasn't even a chance I could escape. As new tears pricked my eyes and rolled down my cheeks, I lifted my left hand and let it rest limply in Mavrik's grasp.

He led me a good 100 yards away from the oval of marble to a little tent. With a nod and another unconvincingly sympathetic glance, he left me.

Inside the tent was a surprisingly soft cot, a plate of cold bread and cheese, a bowl of lukewarm soup, and a glass of water. Not sure if they'd meant it when they said they'd let me live, I left the food alone and curled up on the cot.

Somehow, through all my fear and confusion and grief, I fell asleep immediately.

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**ALRIGHT!! All done with chapter 12! yay for things finally, FINALLY starting to get good! hope you like!! please please review! shout outs to Javan Ryder, Kira, and all my number one fans!!**


	9. Chapter 13 Answers, but not enough

CH. 13

When I woke, it was to unfamiliar surroundings and a deep pain in my right side. Deciding that my pain was more important than where I was for the moment, I lifted my torn and dirty shirt and gasped. A large purple-black brush in the shape of a slender palm decorated the flesh of my ribcage.

As I stared at the aching blotch, my hopes that the last 18 hours had just been a bad dream died. The bruise, along with the tent I was kneeling in, was proof that I'd been kidnapped and held against my will by a whole family of crazy people.

"What's wrong with this town? Why is all of this happening to me?"

"Why don't you ask Amilio?" Terrified, I dove for the corner of the tent and whirled around to face my invisible company.

It was Sakuya.

She stared at me the way one would stare at a feral animal. Hysterical giggles bubbled up my throat as I considered her actually being afraid of me. "Dear…dear calm down…" She slowly moved toward me as she spoke, her hands open and in front of her, letting me know she wasn't armed. _As if these people needed weapons… _I let her take my hand and lead me out of the tent and farther into the forest. Confused at how dark it still was, I glanced at the bits of sky peeking through the leaves above. Dawn. Worried and curious, I picked up my speed to catch up with the tiny figure in front of me. It was then, as I followed the soft sound of her footsteps, that Sakuya's question from before registered.

"Would Amilio really tell me if I asked?" The muttered question had been meant for my own ears, but Sakuya tilted her head slightly in my direction without slowing and replied, "Of course! You're to be an inductee and inductees have the right to ask whatever they please. The answers you get in return, however, may not be what you're hoping for…" A shadow had cast over her features as she spoke, her eyebrows furrowing much the same way they had the day before. My curiosity grew.

"What's an inductee? Why are you against me becoming one?" My gut twisted in fear when she stopped suddenly, her shoulders tense, but her angry gaze was pointed in the direction of the marble oval.

"The first is a question for Amilio. The second I will answer once you've gotten the answer to the first." With that, she continued walking, making it clear that the subject was closed for now. As the silence lengthened, I wondered for the first time where we were going and asked as much. "To the lake, silly!" She gave me an amused look before continuing, "You need a bath and new clothes! Yours got all torn up and filthy when Barylle took you, remember? I have no idea why he felt he needed to take such abusive measures, though."

_Barylle…so that's his name…_ Occupied by this new bit of knowledge, I turned the next bend of the path Sakuya was following, only to stop in my tracks. The lake before me was small, but covered in the eerie light of the still shining moon and a thick layer of mist. It was by far the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and I found myself itching for a pen and piece of paper. Laughter that held only a hint of the hysterics from before escaped me unnoticed.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sakuya's voice, suddenly behind me, startled me out of my mirth. _How do they move so fast..?_ I turned slowly, reluctant to take my eyes away from the scene before me. Sakuya was holding out a bundle of grey clothing with one hand while the other offered me two little bottles of liquid. Shampoo and conditioner, I assumed. As I took and examined the grey suit, Sakuya explained, "We don't have anything else on hand at the moment. Selena, being the closest one to your size, has agreed to let you borrow her spare uniform."

"Selena is the 16th chair, right?" My inquiry was rewarded with a happy grin and nod. After a couple of seconds, Sakuya frowned and motioned at the lake, signaling that it was time for me to get in. Slightly sheepish, I walked to the lake's edge and laid the clothing and soaps down out of reach of the water. Shy about removing my clothes in front of a relative stranger, I glanced back at her. Giving me a sheepish smile of her own, she pointed at a batch of trees and disappeared behind them.

Satisfied that she couldn't see me, I quickly removed what was left of my shirt and pants, happy and relieved to find that my bra and underwear were intact. Placing them next to the grey suit, I dipped a toe into the water and, finding it warm, stepped into the mist until the water reached my waist. The shampoo and conditioner worked wonders on my dirt caked hair, giving it a shine my unruly locks rarely experienced. Once I was as clean as I could get myself, I climbed back out and started dressing in the clothes given to me. They were wondrously soft and light, making me smile in spite of myself.

As I pulled the jacket of the suit over my shoulders, I noticed the silver symbol once again. The more I stared at it, the more I was convinced that it was moving, the intricate letters and swirls sliding over and under one another. I felt as if I could stare at it for eternity and never grasp its meaning. Tearing my eyes away, I searched the batch of trees Sakuya had disappeared behind.

"Looking for me, dear?" A tiny squeak escaped my lips as Sakuya's voice sounded, once again, from behind me. Her chuckle at this was laced with dark humor. I feared that I would never get used to their strange ability to appear out of nowhere. "Y-yeah…um…I'm clean…" I wasn't sure what was next on the agenda, but I had an instinctual feeling that it wouldn't be as enjoyable as the lake. Taking my hand, Sakuya guided me back the way we'd come. My eyes widened when she opened the flap of my tent and I saw fresh food waiting for me.

"After you're done eating, I'm to take you to the Ring of Judgment." At my look of terror, she hurriedly clarified. "That big marble circle you were at yesterday, dear! All of your questions will be answered there." With that, she turned on her heals and left me to my own devices. Something told me she wasn't going far. _She's here to make sure I don't try to escape…_ I couldn't dwell on that depressing thought for long, however, because the smell of the steaming soup was making my stomach grumble. It wasn't until I'd scarfed down all of the soup and half of the bread that I realized I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast the day before. Washing down my meal with the glass of water, I was sad to see it disappear so quickly.

Once I'd stacked the plate, glass, and spoon neatly next to the tent flap, I stepped out and searched for the woman I knew would be there. Sakuya was standing ten feet away with an impatient look on her beautiful features. With a tiny flick of her chin, she signaled that I should follow her. Blinking in confusion, I hesitantly did as she told. _Did I take too long eating? What's got her so antsy..? _

It took all of a minute or two to walk the 100 yards to the Ring of Judgment, but it seemed as if it would take an eternity. I desperately wanted answers, and I knew that only Amilio could give them to me. When we reached the oval, I was slightly shocked to see only Amilio and Mavrik waiting.

Amilio, upon catching sight of me, motioned that I come and stand in front of him. So great was my need for answers, I didn't even hesitate to do as he commanded.

"Now…" Amilio began once I was standing before him. "…to begin the explanations. Is there anything that is at the forefront of your mind? Anything you must know right at this moment?"

The questions popped out of my mouth before I could think them over, surprising me with their urgency.

"What are you people and why has all of this happened to me?!" Amilio studied me for a long, agonizing moment before he opened his mouth to answer. His eyes scorched into my own as he did, making it impossible to look away.

"We, my dear child, are Purebloods, the true vampires, and this has happened to you because you have befriended my son, Atton, and I'm afraid, Wednesday, that you have stumbled upon a war."

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**I'm soo sorry!! I'm afraid I have no excuses this time...I procrastinated and forgot...but it's finally done!! ch. 13 is now up and ready for anyone willing to enjoy it!! please review kindly! xD**


	10. Chapter 14 The Ceremony

Ch. 14

"What..?"

My mind was reeling with this impossible new information. His words reverberated through my skull, repeating themselves over and over again.

_Vampires..._

_War…_

"You…what does Atton have to do with this?! Vampires? That doesn't make sense!" But I knew it did. After what I'd seen in the forest, I knew it did. There wasn't any other explanation. I had seen a cruel leeching of life.

"As I said before,' Amilio's voice broke into my inner turmoil. 'Atton is my son. My enemies are after his life and, simply by being his friend, yours is in danger as well. The car that attacked your school bus is but one example of the numerous attempts they have tried over the years."

"The car that…you mean that was them trying to kill Atton?! You can't be serious! They could have killed us all, not just him!" Amilio nodded gravely at my ever more frantic words. Unable to support my own weight any longer, I sank heavily to my knees. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening!

"Yes, they knew that and didn't care. Humans are like cattle to the Unclean. Walking sacks of blood." Amilio's voice changed from a grave whisper to firm and commanding. "The Unclean must be stopped at all cost. I believe you are the key to their demise, which brings me to the reason the council and I chose to make you an inductee. You have an untapped power inside of you the likes of which I've never sensed before. We wish, with your help, to harness this power and use it to put a final end to the Unclean."

By now I'd figured out that the "Unclean" were the enemies that Amilio spoke of, but this "untapped power" inside me had my mind twitching in agonizing confusion. I feared confusion would become a permanent state of mind for me if things continued the way they were. Never the less, I cast those things aside and asked the question that had been nagging at me since the day before.

"What is an inductee?"

Amilio paused, mouth poised to speak. Closing it, he tilted is head slightly to the left in a birdlike gesture and studied my face closely. Nodding quickly to himself, he answered, "An inductee is usually a child between the ages of 1 and 6 that has been accepted into the Bricks family line. To be more specific, they are not given the last name of "Bricks" until after the induction ceremony. This ceremony guarantees protection from all able vampires in the family and the right to inherit titles of authority upon coming of age. You, my dear, will be the one hundred and fiftieth female inductee in all of our histories and the second one, male or female, to be inducted after the age of 8."

"Why are there so few female inductees?" My curiosity was an enormous itch in the back of my mind that only answers could relieve.

"Because, due to a genetic mutation we've yet to identify and cure, our wives only very rarely give birth to girls. The ratio is one girl for every thousand boys. You see why the council has only three females? They are, excluding Sakuya, all over the age of 150." At this, my already open mouth opened still wider. I feared my jaw would pop right off my face! How long did these creatures live? Centuries? Forever? The possibility of never dying was impossible for my overloaded mind to wrap around.

Lifting my gaze to rest on Amilio's cold blue eyes, I forced my mouth to keep forming words. "What do I have to do in this ceremony? Will it hurt? Will you ever let me go home?" The last question caught in my throat, nearly choking me. Tears I hadn't realized I was shedding splashed onto my hands as they rested limply in my lap. Sakuya moved into my periphery, what I could see of her face soft, and wrap her arms around my shoulders gently.

"Don't worry, dear." She soothed in my ear. "The ceremony only lasts a few hours. You can go home as soon as it's over so long as you swear to tell no one what happened here."

_You can go home…_Those words sent a sudden rush of energy through my veins. Bursting out of Sakuya's grip, I stood and faced Amilio, my eyes set gravely. If it meant I could go home, I'd happily do whatever this ceremony was. I'd even promise never to tell anyone what had happened. Just so long as they let me see my family again.

"Can we do the ceremony now?"

Amilio stared for a moment, his face blank from what I could only assume was surprise, before he composed himself. Nodding, he motioned with his left hand towards a little path I hadn't noticed before. Setting my jaw, I did as he mutely suggested and stepped onto the narrow trail. The trees on either side seemed to lean towards us in anticipation as we passed.

After an hour of half-hearted small talk between Sakuya and myself, I noticed light up ahead. The sun had risen while we were making our way through the forest, so I could clearly see the marble table and man standing calmly beside it. My resolve cracked a little when I noticed the scalpel in his right hand.

"W-what's this? I thought we were doing some kind of ceremony!" With a deep sense of dread, I realized I hadn't asked what kind of ceremony it was going to be. Just as I was about to turn on Amilio and demand to know what was about to happen, a small hand closed over my mouth and hot breath hit my ear as Sakuya whispered to me. "I'm afraid we're going to have to put you under, dear." A sharp pinch in my left elbow caught my attention as she spoke. The man from the table was there, injecting something clear into my arm. Terrified, I thrashed against the arms restraining me, fighting the sudden fatigue that flooded over me with all the strength I could muster, but it was far too late.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the tiny grin on Amilio's face as I was lifted onto the table.

* * *

When my senses returned to me, I became aware that I was laying face down on a hard surface. Blinking against a bright light floating somewhere above me, I slowly lifted my left arm in an attempt to sit up. Pain immediately blossomed across my shoulder blades, causing me to let out a tiny shocked squeak.

"Lay still, dear! The healers haven't had their go at you, yet!" Sakuya's gentle voice drifted to my ears from the left. A deep-rooted anger filled my heart at the sound. She'd been the only one that had seemed to be on my side through all of this, but, in the end, she'd turned on me.

"You…what have you people done to me?! This isn't what-"As I spoke, I forgot the apparent wound on my back and tried to turn and glare at her. The agony that wrenched through me then was worse than the head injury I'd gotten when I'd fallen out of the bus with Atton. In an attempt to stop my screams, I bit down hard on the pillow my head was resting on.

"Now dear, we've done exactly what we said we would! We performed the ceremony! You have been inducted into our family, Wednesday Bricks. Welcome to your part in the Pureblood legacy!"

As I lay there fuming, shuffling footsteps approached.

"Ah, Selena! Did Amilio send you to heal her?" I could only assume that Selena nodded because Sakuya continued after a brief pause. "Your gifts are too important to waste on a single girl! What has gotten into that leader of ours, hmm? In any case, she's woken up so be gentle with her."

Another slight pause and several more shuffled steps later, cool hands rested gently on my shoulder blades. I tensed, expecting it to bring more pain, but where she touched me relief spread. Relaxing slightly, I waited while her cooling hands moved over the entire upper half of my back. Once my pain was completely gone, she mutely started rotating my shoulders, pressed gently on my left shoulder where the pain had stemmed from, and otherwise made sure I was no longer hurting. When she'd finished that as well, she lifted me up slowly. I let her, still afraid any movement on my part might distract her from whatever miracles she was performing. The clothes I'd been wearing before they'd sedated me fell around my elbows. Gasping, I snatched at them and hurriedly made myself decent. Well, as decent as I could, since they'd cut through the back of them to get to the flesh underneath.

"Done." Was all Selena said before she turned on her heal and left.

"Not very talkative, is she?" Sakuya walked into my point of view. Narrowing my eyes suspiciously at her, I carefully lifted a hand and gestured at my damaged back.

"What have you people done to me?" I hated that my voice cracked.

"The ceremony, dear. A tiny bottle of the virus that causes us to turn has been surgically placed in your back, as close to your heart as we could get it. On top of the scar, we placed the traditional Bricks family crest signifying you're induction into the Bricks family."

Horror at what she was telling me twisted in my gut like a knife. I was a Bricks now? They'd put _what_ in my back? When had my life gone from stressing about tests to vampires and forced surgery? This is all too much!

Suddenly overwhelmed, I lay back down on the marble table and stared at the sun above me.

"I hate my life." The words bubbled out of my mouth.

"Yea well that makes two of us…" Sakuya was standing at my side now, looking up at the sun with me. A thought struck me as I glanced at her. "Doesn't the sun kill vampires?" Sakuya smiled and shook her head. "That's just a silly myth, dear. Only one thing can kill a vampire." Her eyes drifted far away as she spoke. "What's that?" I couldn't help but press.

"Other vampires."

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**Done!! whooot!! hope ya likey!!! not the tradition vamp story, is it?!?!? lol! please review kindly!! wow am i hyper!! xD**


	11. Chapter 15 Shocking News

Ch. 15

"Other vampires? Wait…what you put in my back…am I a vampire now, too?" Desperately searching my senses, I tried to find any difference in how I'd felt before they'd put me under. Sakuya's chimey laughter cut into my search.

"No, dear, you're not a vampire. Not yet, at least. The bottle of liquid virus we placed in your back will remain intact until you come of age. On your 18th birthday you will be put through a second ceremony in which the bottle will be broken, the virus will be released, and you will undergo the Turning. Then, and only then, will you become a vampire of the Bricks family." Apparently done with her explanations for now, Sakuya gave me a tiny wave, turned on her heal, and left through the tiny trail we'd followed to get here.

Furious at Sakuya and the world in general, I lay my head back against the pillow and watched the clouds go by, thinking about what Sakuya had said. My 18th birthday? That meant I only had a year and a half before they would force me through another horrid surgery or worse. If I really did become a vampire, would my eyes turn grey like theirs were? Did that mean Atton was already a vampire? Where had Atton disappeared to yesterday? I had many questions that only he could answer the moment I had time alone with him.

After what seemed like hours, a set of crisply moving feet approached and Mavrik entered my line of sight. Curious but not in the mood to speak, I lifted my eyebrows at him questioningly.

"Master Amilio has ordered me to see that you get home safely and to answer any remaining questions you may have." I lay there staring, unable to move as my mind processed this wonderful news. Mavrik simply stared back, a blank look on his face. Something about his eyes made me think more was going on behind the mask of his face then he let on. Still not wanting to break the silence, I gestured at the now ruined clothes Selena had allowed me to borrow. In answer, Mavrik let the bag he had on his shoulder slide off and opened it to show me its contents. The clothes I'd been wearing when they took me, still dirty and torn, were sitting on top.

"I have to put my dirty clothes back on? What was the point of giving me new ones?" Staring questioningly at what I was being offered, I waited for his response. Mavrik shrugged and gave me an annoyed glare then, started pulling out the various pieces of my clothing. "He wants you to look as close to what you did this morning as possible. He had you bathe and put on fresh clothes so you'd be clean for the surgery." That said, Mavrik motioned again at the dirty pile on the edge of the table before turning around and staring into the trees.

Taking advantage of the small privacy, I quickly changed, cringing as the grit caked into the fabric rubbed against my legs and arms. After letting Mavrik know I was ready, we set off in the opposite direction of the tiny trail Sakuya had disappeared through. As we walked in silence I brooded to myself. _I have to think of something to tell my parents when I get home…I got lost? But what would explain my clean hair? I found a lake while I was wondering maybe? What about the bruise on my chest and the scar on my back? And the sudden tattoo?! Oh no!! I'll never be able to explain that away! _

"You're troubled." Mavrik's chipped voice cut through my panic. I blinked at the back of his head. He'd stated it as a fact without turning to see if he was correct. "Um…that's a huge understatement…how am I supposed to hide a tattoo from my parents?" I couldn't help the angry edge from coloring my tone. Mavrik responded in his businesslike voice, "The tattoo has been temporarily charmed so that only vampires and inductees can see it. You won't have to worry much about a scar either. Selena's powers at healing are the strongest we've seen in three centuries. Do you have any more questions?" I laughed under my breath at that. More questions? I was bursting with them! I started with the most simple.

"When I turn 18, do I have the right to choose between being human and becoming a vampire?" A sad sigh was my answer. It was all I needed to know what he meant. I would become a vampire whether I wanted to or not. Refusing to let myself spiral into depression, I forged on.

"And Atton? Is he an inductee?" Mavrik stopped in his tracks. I wouldn't back down and try to soothe him as I'd done with Sakuya this time. I needed an answer.

"Yes…he's an inductee like you…but he won't be for much longer now…he's only months from his Turning ceremony." While he spoke, Mavrik studied my face, his eyes indecipherable. I didn't care at that moment, though. What mattered was that Atton was going to be just like the others. Now that I knew his family secret and was in the same boat I felt closer to him somehow.

"Wait…his eyes are the same shade of grey! How is that possible if he's not a vampire?" Mavrik snorted and gave me an exasperated look. "Atton is the son of the oldest and most powerful Pureblood! It is natural for him to have more vampire blood in his veins than in the others born of our family. His eyes and enhanced strength are testament to that fact." Caught up in my curiosity, I kept going without putting thought into what I was saying. "Where is he now? He wasn't at school yesterday…" _Shut up!_ I chastised myself as soon as I realized what I had asked. _That isn't my business and has nothing to do with what I'm going through!_ Mavrik's gaze became more intense and, instead of answering, he shrugged again and started walking. His pace was faster now, as if he was in a hurry. I had trouble keeping up and watching for roots at the same time, and, sure enough, I fell on my face twenty minutes later. Shaking what leaves I could from my hair, I hurriedly stood and sprinted to catch up. Mavrik glanced at me as I reached him.

"You're dirty again…good." I shook my head in annoyance. This man was the strangest of the three council members I'd met. _At least I'll be home soon..._Content with that fact and the knowledge that I had a good while before they tried to force me to do anything else, I followed Mavrik without any further breaking of the silence.

After hours of walking without rest, we reached the tiny circle of grass I'd stopped at after my anger was spent the day before. Mavrik stopped there, giving me time to catch my breath. Looking up at him, I realized with a jolt of shock that he was actually _sniffing the air_. "Um…what are you doing?" He ignored me, slowly walking around the small circumference of the grass circle, sniffing the whole way. A minute later he stopped between two large trees near the opposite side of the glade and pointed.

"You came from that direction." Was all he said before motioning for me to follow again. Certain he'd just tracked down my scent from the day before like a wolf, I did as he asked. The idea that their every sense was heightened was both exciting and scary. Another two hours later, we finally reached my bench and the entrance to the school cafeteria. Happy and tired, I slumped onto my favorite seat and breathed in the familiar cut grass scent. My relief didn't last long, however, because Mavrik was already waving impatiently for me to continue following him.

"But we're at the school! Where are you supposed to be taking me?" To my shock, his lips twitched in the first sign of humor I'd ever seen him express. "My dear child, it is Saturday. Amilio has instructed me to take you to your home rather than abandon you at an empty school." _Oh…_Mentally slapping myself on the forehead, I nodded sheepishly and stood. After one last amused head shake in my direction, Mavrik started walking again, slower this time. Since it was easier to keep up, I was able to stay on my feet and take note of our surroundings. I'd lived in Shadyview for more than three weeks now, but I'd never been farther than the school and the grocery store five blocks from my home.

In the last twenty minutes of walking I realized that Shadyview was beautiful. Every house was surrounded by woods, every lawn full of wild flowers. Too engrossed in the natural beauty surrounding me, I walked straight into Mavrik's back.

"Wah..? Why'd you stop, Mav-MMPH!!" Mavrik spun around in a blur of motion and clamped a boney hand over my mouth before I got the whole sentence out. Signaling with his free hand that I should be quiet, he pulled me into the shadow created by two houses that had been built too close together. Shaking with instinctual fear, I tried to stay as still as I possibly could. Mavrik's iron grasp on my shoulder somehow helped me to focus.

The sound of feet lightly hitting the sidewalk reached my eardrums before their owner came into view. My jaw dropped as I recognized the substitute teacher that hadn't believed my name was Wednesday. As he passed our hiding place, his steps slowed and he sniffed the air much the same way I'd seen Mavrik do earlier. Too my immense relief, he shrugged to himself and continued without stopping, although not as quickly as before. Mavrik didn't release my shoulder from his grip until the man had been gone for a full minute.

"What was that about? Is he one of the Purebloods?" The vampire's grave expression told me otherwise. It was strange to call someone that, even in the sanctity of my own mind. "He's…one of the Unclean?" Mavrik nodded, his eyes cold as they scanned the corner the man had disappeared around. For some reason, his name escaped me. Was I being forgetful because of all my stress and fears or had my memories been messed with? After all the impossible things I'd learned and witnessed, I couldn't be sure of anything anymore. I wondered if I'd become more and more paranoid as my eyes were opened to the hidden world around me.

"Yes…that man is one of their scouts. We believe that he is the one that was driving the car that attacked your bus that dreadful day. However, we haven't had a clean chance to remove him from existence yet." Mavrik's voice had become gruesomely sad. I had a feeling that if I hadn't been with him, Mavrik would have tried to "remove him from existence" right then and there. Shivering at the thought, I tried to wrap my mind around the idea that I'd just seen mine and Atton's almost-murderer.

"Come." Mavrik's sudden voice made me jump. "We must get you home as soon as possible so that I can return and report what we have seen here to Master Amilio." Not trusting myself to speak steadily, I nodded and did as he suggested. Finally, after being kidnapped, forced to go through a ceremonial surgery, and many hours of hiking, I made it home.

Not surprisingly, there was a cop car sitting in our driveway.

"Looks like they were worried about me." My sarcasm succeeded in making Mavrik's lips twitch, though it didn't reach his eyes. At the moment, however, I could've cared less about his worried expression because in a few more seconds I'd get to see my family. Breaking into a happy run, I practically slammed into the front door in my haste to get inside.

What I saw as I burst into the living room stopped me dead and sent my heart into my throat.

The entire room was trashed.

"Hey!" A police officer that had been snapping pictures of our smashed TV had turned as I entered and was now coming towards me with his right hand gripping the gun at his hip. "Don't take another step! Who are you and why have you entered this crime scene without authorization?"

My mind began to shut down. "Crime…scene? Where…where is my family...?" Understanding bloomed across the officer's face as he took in my stricken expression and dirty clothing. Releasing his gun, the man slowly raised his hands and continued his advance towards me, though this time he was trying to calm me. I was only barely able to comprehend this through the buzzing in my ears and the half-formed thoughts zooming around inside my head.

_Crime scene? Does that mean they're…it can't mean they're…No…Oh god…oh god oh god oh god…_

From some faraway place, a voice spoke to me.

"No one is dead, ma'am!"_ Was I speaking out loud?_ "Please calm down! Please…just wait here for a moment while I get my partner from the other room, and we'll take you to see your mother, ok? Everything is going to be alright."

_My mother..? She's ok? Oh good…that's good…but what about the others? _

Hands were guiding me now, gently pulling me away from the ruined living room. Moments later, the soft pressure on my wrists transferred to my shoulders and made me sit. I don't know what I was thinking or what I said as the police drove me to the hospital, only that minutes after arriving my mother was holding me and crying into my hair. Her voice brought me back to reality and I was able to recognize the sterilized smell of a medical facility.

"Mom..?" Wires protruded from her elbows and the back of her hands and bruises colored the left side of her face and left speckle patterns down her left arm. Taking in her beaten appearance, I couldn't help but cringe away. Terrified of what the answer might be, I whispered, "What…what happened to you? Where are the others?!" In a cracked, broken voice, my mother opened her mouth and spoke.

"They took them. All of them."

* * *

**OMG!! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO WENDESDAY'S FAMILY?!?! YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE!! please review kindly!! **


	12. Chapter 16 He finally appears!

Ch. 16

Ears pounding, I fell heavily into the seat next to her bed. _They..? Who were they? What could they possibly want with my family?_ I looked up, mouth open to ask these questions out loud, but my mother had laid her head back and was now unconscious. Alarmed, I sprang back to my feet. "Mom? Mom! Are you ok? Please…please be ok!" I shook my mother as gently as I could, afraid I may make her injuries worse. Only the steady beeping of her heart monitor was my reply. At least, I thought it would be my only reply.

"Your mother is going to be fine, Wednesday. She's scared and bruised, but fine." Atton's voice sounded from a few feet behind me, but I couldn't make myself look at him. I didn't want him to see the defeated look on my face. In the moment I'd seen my mother covered in wires, I'd given up. It was too much. All this shock and confusion and pain were too much. My heart and mind couldn't take anymore. Still, I'd been waiting for Atton to show up again so that I could finally wrestle some answers from him. I asked the most prominent in my mind at that moment.

"Why are you here, Atton..?" _Does my voice sound as lifeless to him as it sounds to me? _It was a moment before he answered, but when he did, his voice was brimming with quiet sorrow. It was that deep-rooted grief that got my attention.

"To apologize…and to help return your family in any way I can…" Suddenly full of fragile hope, I turned for the first time to look at him. His eyes were ringed in the dark bruises of one who hadn't slept in days and his clothes were wrinkled and stained. Even his carefully maintained hair was in a curly mess I'd have thought looked cute a few days ago. Atton's eyes widened when he took in my appearance. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I looked much worse than he did, what with my torn, muddy clothes and tear-streaked face.

"What…did they do to you..?" His face twisted in anger as he whispered the question. Before I could summon the will to reply, he lifted his hand from his side and gently touched one of the several small bruises on the side of my neck that I'd gained when the sack had been shoved over my head. I blinked in surprise at the sudden gesture, and Atton quickly dropped his hand. Ears reddening, Atton mumbled an apology and shuffled his feet. Choosing to ignore my ridiculous and random hope that maybe he was feeling shy around someone like _me_, I finally forced my lips to move and give him an answer.

"Well…kidnapped me, held me against my will, opened my eyes to an entire family of vampires, and the best part? You and I are in the same boat now!" Atton's furious expression melted into one of incomprehension when I finished. _He really doesn't know any of this? Does his father not tell him anything?_ It was silly how relieved I was to know Atton hadn't been involved in any of my sufferings. Not wanting to keep him out of the loop, I continued. "As of dawn this morning, I am officially an inductee of the Bricks family. Amilio said it was either become an inductee and harness some "power" he senses inside of me or execution. Well, his words were 'rather than losing your life'…" I barely had time to finish the sentence before Atton was pacing the room and muttering darkly to himself.

"How could they…she's too old…she's not like Sakuya was…what is father _thinking?!_ This can't be…it can't…wait!" I jumped a little as Atton whirled around to face me, wild hope swimming in his eyes. "Turn around! Show me the family crest! It might have all been a lie!" Not wanting to send him off the edge he was obviously balancing on, I turned and moved my shirt around so that the large hole on my left shoulder exposed the scar and crest. Atton's intake of breath told me his hopes had died.

"No…it's a law! A law father himself created! We are forbidden to conduct the induction ceremony on an outsider unless under dire circumstances! What did he sense in you that he would break his own strictly enforced law?" I listened to his shocked murmurs in growing fear. What had Amilio not told me about the induction that had Atton so upset? I asked as much out loud.

"Why am I upset? Why?! Because you are an innocent girl that was dragged into all of this because of me! Because those despicable Unclean want me dead! It's _my_ fault this has happened to you and father purposely told me nothing of your abduction so that I couldn't try to stop him! He only wants to use you to further his attack against the Unclean."

I shook my head, a little lost, as I responded, "Why does he need me so badly anyway? Your family is made up of vampires! Can't you stop the Unclean yourselves? Isn't that why they want you dead?" Atton looked at me with understanding. Something about that look told me Amilio had left out a few details in his explanations.

"We can't simply take them out because the Unclean are vampires just like us. If we started an open attack, a huge bloodbath would commence, killing vampires of both sides as well as any humans that had the misfortune of being close by. That's why we're both using round about ways to gain the upper hand. Yes, they want me dead, but it's more than just an enemy trying to hurt my father. Controlling the Pureblood family is simply the first step in their plans. I am the only son Amilio Bricks has ever fathered, meaning I'm the only one who can rightfully succeed him after his thousand year reign is complete. If the Unclean manage to kill me before that, my family will weaken and begin feuding over who will take the role of leader." While Atton spoke, his eyes scorched into mine, trying to convey the seriousness of the matter. "If I die, my family will die with me. That's why father is desperately searching for a method to defeat them before that can happen. I just…I never thought he was so desperate as to involve an innocent…I didn't know things had become that serious…" As he reached the end of his speech, Atton's head dipped in shame. "I'm sorry, Wednesday…I'm so sorry…"

My only response was to stare at him as I absorbed this new information. _So Atton is the only thing keeping the Bricks family rooted together? Maybe that's why Sakuya and Mavrik got so tense whenever I talked about him. Maybe they were afraid I knew something I shouldn't._ Atton continued to pace the floor as I pondered to myself. My decision to give up just moments ago was all but forgotten as I watched him, and a new, unfamiliar sensation took its place. I was suddenly overcome with the need to help this boy in any way I could. I had no idea why. Maybe because I somehow knew he was the key to finding who had my family and where they had taken them, or because I was terrified at what the Unclean might do should they succeed in taking his life, or simply that I'd grown attached to this secretive, kind boy over the three weeks I'd known him. Whatever the reason, I knew I had to everything in my power to make sure Atton's life stayed intact.

First things first, however.

"Did the Unclean take my family?"

Atton froze, one foot lifted three inches off the ground, and turned his head to gaze at me sadly.

"Yes…" He replied softly after a brief moment of tense silence. "I don't know where they took them, but our trackers should be able to follow their scents from your home. Now that you're an…" He paused, seemingly unable to make himself speak, before clearing his throat and continuing. "…now that you're an inductee, you have the right to ask for their help."

"Take me to them."

Atton's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise at my demand, but he composed himself and nodded gravely. Without breaking the silence that enveloped the room, Atton lead the way out of the hospital room and down the hall. I glanced around as I followed, wanting to memorize the way back so that I wouldn't have to stop and ask if I wanted to see my mother again. I attempts were in vain, however, because we made so many turns and walked through so many double doors that I soon lost count.

"How far from the exit are we?" I inquired in shock. Atton continued on for a while before answering. "We're taking the little known side exit so the Unclean monitoring the hospital won't notice us leave. I'm taking the long way to make sure they don't know how to get to it." _Oh…that makes sense…kinda…_I muttered inwardly as we turned yet another corner.

After a couple for minutes of walking, I noticed that Atton was holding his left shoulder a little lower than his right. Intrigued, I watched him move for a few paces and realized that his left arm was hanging almost limply by his side while his right swung freely. Deciding that this was excuse enough to start asking some of the questions that I'd wanted answers to since the school trip, I cleared my throat loudly enough to get his attention and asked, "Atton? What's wrong with your shoulder?" For the second time, Atton froze in place. His expression was sad when he turned to answer. "Wait until we're on the way, ok? It's not safe for me to tell you things here in the open. The way out is just around the corner now. I'm sorry…but I need you to be patient just for a bit longer…I promise, though…you _will_ get answers!" Biting my tongue against the questions that threatened to burst from my lips, I nodded my acceptance and we hurriedly turned the corner and, after checking to make sure no one was there, slipped through an unmarked door next to a janitor's closet.

The air inside the narrow corridor we were now standing in was dank with the smell mold and neglect. With a small motion of his hand, Atton signaled that I take the lead. A little worried, I did as he asked and stepped in front of him. Only minutes later, we were standing outside. Looking around, I saw that we were on the west side of Shadyview's gigantic hospital. Pulling out a tiny green cell phone, Atton quickly dialed a number and pressed it against his ear, his foot tapping impatiently as he waited. Moments later, Atton began speaking in the same guttural language Barylle had spoken as he dragged me through the forest. This undeniable proof that he was indeed a member of the Purebloods made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Hanging up the phone, Atton turned to me and commented in English, "They'll be here in ten minutes." Tongue-tied, I simply shrugged and stared at the clouds.

I didn't feel right leaving my mother alone, but something told me the Unclean wouldn't touch her. They'd left her behind on purpose. I was sure of it. For now, though, I needed to worry about how I'd rescue the rest of my family. My determination to save them was so powerful that I could only wait a minute or two before it was Atton's turn to watch _me_ pace furiously. He did so without a word, his eyes following me calmly. Those grey eyes, eyes I'd thought were uniquely beautiful, now made me nervous, and I had to force myself to ignore them.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a black car with tinted windows pulled to a stop in front of us. Atton, a gentleman since the day I'd met him, opened the door for me before sliding in beside me and slamming it shut.

"Take us to the manor." Atton commanded the grey-eyed vampire in the driver's seat. I blinked when the man silently and obediently pulled away. _Wow…he can order the vampires around? I guess you get special privileges when your dad is ruler._ Atton didn't speak for a moment as the car turned onto the highway. I waited, impatient but not wanting to push him.

"My shoulder…" Atton began slowly. "…do you remember when my back struck the emergency door of the bus just before it gave away?" I nodded. Memories of that day still haunted my dreams. Even now I could still hear his cry of agony as the kids with weak grips crushed him against the door ring in my ears. "Well…the bottle of virus in my back was cracked…not enough to release it, but a few chips of glass broke away and caused a great deal of damage to the surrounding muscles. Thankfully, the bottles are handmade by members of our family, so the glass is thicker than usual to ward against Turning on accident."

While he explained, my eyes grew wider and wider. It scared me to think of how close he came to becoming a vampire too early. _I wonder…if the bottle had broken and he'd gone through the Turning, would he have been conscious enough to save me?_ I shuttered, only now grasping the potential danger of that day. As new relief spread through my chest, Atton finished speaking and grew quiet. The silence made me even more nervous than his eyes did and, for lack of something better to do, I asked why Atton's eyes were grey even though he wasn't a vampire.

"That's because my father went outside of tradition and married my mother even though he was already a vampire. I was born with a mixture of vampire and human blood. Vampire men can still marry and have children but there's a huge chance that the child will be still-born or that the wife will die during labor because of the stress on her body." Atton's mouth turned down at the corners sadly. "My mother died giving birth to me…even as a fetus, I was too strong for her body to handle…she was bedridden throughout the entire pregnancy…"

Without thinking, I reached out, much the same way I had on the bus ride to the forests, and placed my hand on his. "I'm sorry, Atton…I know you don't know me well, but I'm here if you'd like to talk…" I cringed inwardly at how cheesy that sounded, but I was trying to be sincere. Atton's hand, much to my surprise, turned over and closed warmly around mine. He stared into my eyes for a moment, gratitude swimming deep in their depths, before letting go of me and turning to stare out the window. Somehow, even though he hadn't said or done anything but hold my hand and look at me, I knew that I'd just gotten closer to him. I couldn't let the silence last, however, because I still had many questions.

"Is Jamie an inductee?"

Atton's gentle smile disappeared and a shadow passed over his features. I blinked, a little put off at how suddenly his moods were changing since he'd finally shown up again.

"No, Jamie is a member of the only human family to know of our existence. My father is forcing me to befriend her because our ties with them have become strained over the years."

Questions babbled from my throat. "B-but, aren't you dating her? Why forcing? Do you not like her?" Somehow, through all that had happened and was still happening, I was suddenly a girl with a crush filled with hopeful anticipation of his answer. Atton blinked a couple of times and stared openly. Obviously, he had heard something of what I felt in my voice.

"No…" He answered me slowly, his eyes probing into my own. "She seems to have convinced herself that we are, however, and makes certain every other girl at school believes it, too. I say 'forced' because her personality is trash, and spending lunch with her during school is enough to ruin my appetite." By the time he finished, my jaw was nearly touching the car seat. Apparently, I wasn't the only one at school who thought she had problems.

Chuckling, Atton gently pushed my chin up with his index finger and commented good-naturedly, "You look like a fish with your mouth and eyes open so wide." Ignoring the heat that spread across my face, I shut my mouth and turned to stare out of the window, or tried to. Atton's hand caught my face before I could.

"You never have to hide your face from me, Wednesday…" He said, a hint of sadness tainting his otherwise teasing voice. "Besides, you're cute when you blush!" That last comment had my blush burning hotter than a road flare, and another amused chuckle escaped Atton's lips. Atton's smile slipped a little as he looked at me, and his laughter died away. I stared back, my face still held in his soft grasp, wondering what kind of thoughts were swimming behind his eyes. "You…" He began in a whisper. "Have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, do you..?" I couldn't form the thoughts necessary to reply, because Atton had slowly leaned forward as he spoke and had only stopped when his face was an inch from mine. At that moment, I truly thought he was going to kiss me, but he sighed and pulled away, leaving me blushing and hugely disappointed.

"We're here." Atton said after ten minutes of thick silence. Still having trouble with coherent thoughts, I simply opened the door and stepped out of the car. "Welcome to my home." He whispered quietly in my ear as he came to stand beside me. My ear tingled where his breath touched me, and, once again not trusting my mouth to speak proper English, I stared at the huge building before me. The walls of the mansion or "Manor", as Atton had put it earlier, were painted a pale shade of silver and the drive way was lined by dozens of identically cut trees. Three stories tall and covered in windows and balconies, it was the kind of house the average person could only dream of owning.

The giant front door opened and a tall man, clad in a crisp black tuxedo, stepped out onto the ornately carved front steps and bowed deeply.

"Master Bricks and welcome guest." The man muttered respectfully. "Please allow me to show you inside." For the first time, worry at what I was about to do leaked into my resolve. Not wanting to turn back after coming so far, however, I lifted my chin and followed who I could only assume was the butler through the door.

Inside the house was buzzing with activity. My eyebrows shot up as I took in the dozens of maids and servants running to and fro. I didn't have time to sight-see properly, though, because Atton took my hand and pulled me through a set of double doors to the right of the front door. I couldn't tell you how many turns we made or how many doors we passed as we walked. My entire focus was centered on the feel of his fingers wrapped firmly around mine. I only came back to earth when we reached our destination and Atton released my hand at last.

"Is this it?" I forced myself to ask. Atton nodded and knocked on the silver door we were standing in front of. Several seconds passed before the door opened to reveal Barylle, my kidnapper from the day before. Mouth open in a wordless cry, I dove behind Atton and cowered there, filled with the irrational fear that Barylle was going to take me away again.

"Calm down, child!" The familiar voice commanded me. "I'm not going to lay a hand on you! Yesterday, I was merely following orders!" I could feel Atton's back stiffen where I clutched at his shirt.

"So you're the one father ordered to take her? How could you follow orders to kidnap an innocent girl?" Atton demanded to know.

"Yes, I'm the one Master Amilio entrusted with the duty of bringing this child to him. Orders from Master Amilio must be obeyed. You know full well what would have happened to me should I have refused." Was Barylle's indignant reply. By now, I'd gotten control of my body again, and, releasing my death-grip on Atton's shirt, I slowly inched back out from behind him. Now that I could look at him sensibly, the Barylle I'd seen the day before was completely different than the one that was standing in front of me now. Blue jeans and a bright yellow shirt had replaced the depressing uniform of the Pureblood Council and even his hair was styled in a spiky mess on his head. The changes made him look younger and much less severe than he had 24 hours ago.

"Are…you one of the trackers?" I asked tentatively, both afraid and excited to hear his answer. Barylle nodded and stepped to the side, revealing a small table with four other vampires surrounding it, all holding cards in one hand and staring at me. I gulped quietly and waited for Atton to tell them our request, but he gently nudged my shoulder and motioned for me to speak. _Crap…_

"Um…I need your help…please?" I wasn't sure if I needed to ask or order but I wanted to play it safe, just in case. Forging on, I explained that my parents had been taken by the Unclean for an unknown reason and that I was desperate to have them returned. The vampires laid their cards down and listened to my plea without interruption. Only when I ran out of words did they stand and gather in a small half circle around me.

"We will help you, Wednesday Stevens, for two reasons." The silver-haired woman standing on my right said softly. "The first; Master Amilio has inducted you into our family, and we are honor bound to help you in any way we can. The second and perhaps the most important is that the Unclean are the abductors. We must do anything and everything to stop whatever plans they have with you and your family before they are realized." It was unnerving, the way they stared at me as she spoke, as if I were the only thing in existence. I could only assume that they'd shifted into their tracking gears and were waiting for the order to head out.

"We will need something of the-"

"No, we have no time for that." Atton interrupted the woman. They all mercifully turned their attention onto him as he continued. "They've already been gone too long for us to drive back to her home, sneak past the police there, and begin the search." Turning and addressing me, Atton said, "Wednesday, I loath to ask this of you after all you've been through but Stephan needs to tap into your mind if we're going to find your family quickly." I stared at him, not comprehending what he was asking of me. Tap into my mind? What in the world did that mean?

"It won't hurt at all, but it _will_ feel as if something alien is combing through your head." Atton continued. "Do you think you're up to that? Or would you prefer we go to your house?" I looked at Atton for a long time, thinking of what he'd said and if I wanted a stranger in my head. In the end, there was only one decision to make. Do I want to find my family now or later? Obviously, the only answer I could accept was now.

"Do whatever is necessary. We _have_ to find them!" Atton nodded gravely and motioned for the oldest looking of the six vampires to come forward. I assumed that this was Stephan.

Gently placing a hand on either side of my head, Stephan stared into my eyes fiercely. I found it impossible to look away from those deep pools of grey. When he entered my mind, it felt as if someone had let loose a thousand tiny worms inside my brain. Despite my discomfort, I couldn't move or take my gaze off of his. Stephan released me only seconds after beginning, but it felt as if I'd been under that torture for years.

"She has a remarkable mind. Very different than most I've tasted." He commended mildly as he turned to speak to Atton. "I have their signature. They are far from here but not so far that the scent is faint. We will have their whereabouts before the day is out." With that, the six tracker vampires bowed and sprinted down the hall. It took them less than a second to reach the end of the long corridor and turn the corner.

"What do we do now?" I asked after a moment of wide-eyed staring.

"We wait. We wait and we hope."

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**YAYAYAY!! I'M SO GLAD I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPPY!! WHOOT!! This one turned out to be a long one but i just couldn't stop coming up with more things to write! Hope you enjoy this chappy as much as I enjoyed writing it! Please review kindly!**


	13. Chapter 17 The Bricks Manor

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Ch. 17

"That's it? We just sit around and wait for them to return?" The prospect of having to wait potentially hours longer to find my family wasn't a happy one. With every moment they were in the hands of the Unclean, the dread in my heart grew stronger. Atton shrugged apologetically. "It's all we can do, now…The trackers are very good at what they do, and Stephan knowing their signature will help more than you know." I felt my eyebrows pull together as I heard that word for the second time. What in the world was a "signature" and how did Stephan get it from my mind? I asked as much out loud.

"Well…that one I'm not too sure about either…" Atton admitted sheepishly. "Barylle tried once to explain it to me, but he has a way of turning simple things into something so complex it just soars right over your head. It had something to do with everyone having a set signature of the people they care about in their mind. The stronger the bond between you and the one close to you, the stronger the signature will be. That's…just about all that I could understand…" Atton ducked his head, his ears reddening the same way I'd seen them redden in the hospital. _Ah…it must mean that he's embarrassed. I knew he couldn't possibly have been feeling shy. _I smiled sympathetically to hide my disappointment and patted his shoulder softly.

"Don't worry about it! Nobody can know everything! That doesn't stop us from trying, though!" My weak attempt at a pep talk seemed to work because Atton chuckled under his breath and flashed me a brilliant smile that sent my heart into overdrive. With one last quiet chuckle, Atton motioned that I should follow him back the way we'd come. I did as he suggested, falling in step beside him as we walked down the overly fancy hallway. As we made the half-dozen or so turns it took to get back to the main hall, we chatted idly about whatever came to mind. I still had questions for him but something told me that they needed to wait until we were alone, so I pushed them to the back of my head for later. Besides, he'd already answered more than I'd originally thought he would. I noticed after a while that I was telling Atton almost everything about my life and family, just as I had for Sakuya when we'd been waiting for the council to decide my fate. _Maybe it has something to do with their eyes. Guess that's one more thing I'll have to ask Atton about._

I wasn't the only one telling things about themselves, however. By the time we finally made it out of the maze that was Atton's house and into the main hall, I'd learned that it was an insult for a human to enter a vampire's room without knocking three times first, that Atton hated the smell of miracle whip, and that Amilio had been the leader of the Purebloods for 996 years. That huge a number was almost too much for my poor mind to wrap around, but I knew it was the truth.

Several servants approached us, but Atton politely waved them away with a shake of his head and a "No, thank you". I watched them in silent fascination. I'd never seen, let alone met in person, anyone with a family rich enough to have such a ridiculous number of hired help. Most scurried around franticly, arms laden with towels or trays of various foods. Eyes locked on a middle-aged man carrying a huge load of towels that towered over his head who was somehow managing to navigate the hall without crashing, I walked straight into Atton's shoulder. Thrown off balance, I flailed my arms desperately to find something to catch onto. A firm hand closed around my own and yanked me up. Looking up at its owner, I came face to face with a vampire taller than all others I'd met so far. His features, though sunken and tired-looking, were handsome in the extreme. His eyes, the same shade of grey as the others, seemed to draw me in. I found it impossible to look away.

A sudden hiss erupted from beside me and a smaller, more familiar hand yanked mine from the grasp of the stranger in front of me. Free of his hold and eyes, I stood shivering at Atton's side, my eyes locked on the floor for fear I'd be caught in that grey prison again. It had been terrifying, like my body had been frozen in place. Atton spoke then, his voice dripping with venom. "She is an inductee, Arin, and my friend. If you try that again, I'll have you on guard duty for the next 50 years." With that, Atton tugged me away, leaving Arin standing there with a stricken expression on his sunken features.

While grateful to Atton for rescuing me from Arin, I was a little lost as to what had actually happened. Still, for once, I was perfectly willing to wait until later to bring it up. For the moment, I was still trembling from the fear of being powerless to pull away. Atton noticed this, took my hand in his, and squeezed it reassuringly. I swallowed softly and gave him a tentative smile in return. _He has no idea how he affects me just by being his usual caring self…_ Atton didn't let go as we walked up the huge staircase in the middle of the main hall, and for the second time, I had to focus all my energy on walking straight. Unwilling to speak for fear of saying something that might make him let go of my hand, I let him lead me without asking where we were going. After two halls of mutual silence, Atton stopped me in front of the only plain door I'd seen so far. Letting go of my hand, much to my sadness and relief, he opened the door, revealing a library so large I could only stare.

The sheer number of books, thousands of them on dozens of bookcases that reached the ceiling and wrapped around the walls, sent my mind reeling. Atton's quiet laugh brought me back to earth, and I turned to look at him. "I thought you'd enjoy this room." He said happily. "Go search around! Make a stack of all the books you want to read and I'll do the same. I've been working on this library for 12 years and still haven't read half of what's available, and more books come in every month." Grinning from ear to ear, I unthinkingly gave Atton a hug, stuttered a string of thank you's, and ran to the first bookcase.

It wasn't the prospect of reading so many books that had me so happy. I was overjoyed because Atton had effortlessly found a way for me to pass the time without falling apart. By throwing myself into the realm of fantasy I would be able to coup with my fears, not make them go away completely, but at the very least suppress them. _Still…_I stopped halfway to my goal, my happiness gone almost as soon as it had appeared. _Is this really ok..? Just sitting around and waiting for strangers to find my family for me? _There was a feeling in the back of my mind that something was going to go wrong. It festered there like an itch I couldn't reach, making it impossible for me to take the last ten steps. Here, surrounded by the written word, I realized I had a choice to make. I could stay and twiddle the time away or I could go aid in the search for my family. It took only a moment for me to decide.

"Atton." I began, turning on my heels to face him. He jumped when he heard my voice, as if I'd startled him out of deep thought. Ignoring that, I forged on. "I can't do this. I _have_ to be out there helping! They're my family…" My voice caught in my throat, sticking to the words that I wanted, needed, to say. "I can't leave it up to your trackers…no matter how good they are…I just can't!" For a moment, we both just stood there, Atton looking surprised and me twitching to begin. Finally, Atton's eyebrows pulled together, a look of understanding lighting his eyes. He didn't argue, didn't list reasons why I should leave it to the people who knew what they were doing, only nodded gravely and pulled out his tiny green cell phone. I grinned, overjoyed to have found a friend who cared enough to let me do what I could, who understood that I wasn't the kind of person that could leave the lives of the people I loved in the hands of others. Retracing my steps back to Atton's side, I waited as he spoke to whomever he'd called in the guttural language I'd come to believe was the Purebloods' native tongue. Several minutes later, Atton hung up and smiled at me triumphantly.

"My driver is waiting for us at the back entrance. Come on!" With that, Atton turned and hurried back the way we'd come. I had to practically jog to keep up with his pace. Slightly breathless, I asked, "Why the back entrance?"

"Because," Atton answered without breaking stride, "if father knew that I was taking his favorite new inductee Unclean hunting, he'd have the entire guard on our backs before we reached the end of the driveway. This way, he won't know until it's too late to stop us." Atton slowed down a bit and stared at me seriously as he continued, "I want to help you find your parents, Wednesday. I was hoping you'd be content to wait for the trackers to find them but I knew that the chances of that were slim, so I had my driver pull around back after he dropped us off, just in case." I grinned at him wordlessly, surprised at how well he knew me. As we walked, I stared at his back, my heart filled with a strange emotion I couldn't name that both confused and excited me. It was as if my heart was stuttering in my chest, and I couldn't make myself look away from the boy walking gracefully in front of me. Suddenly filled with an irrational panic, I quickly forced myself to look at my feet and shoved the unfamiliar feeling deep into my heart where it couldn't bother me. All this happened in the span of a few seconds, and I focused my energy on putting one foot in front of the other.

Shockingly, it took only a few turns and one flight of stairs to reach the back entrance of Atton's manor. The door opened to a large balcony with a flight of narrow stairs that followed the side of the manor to the ground below, and, though they were just as ornate as the rest of the house, the steps didn't seem very sturdy. Only the reassuring knowledge that Atton was a step behind me gave me the courage to descend without testing every step first. The same car that had picked us up from the hospital was parked fifty yards away behind a large tree pruned into a perfect rectangle. Unable to look Atton in the eye for fear he'd notice how hot my face was still burning from the incident he'd been oblivious to, I took the lead, opened the door myself, and slid into the seat, all without looking to see Atton's reaction to my odd behavior. He gave me a questioning look as he slid in beside me and motioned for the driver to go. I shrugged, trying my best to look as if nothing was wrong. It was obvious by the way Atton glanced at me from the corner of his eye every few minutes that he didn't buy it, but he didn't pry.

We drove in silence, me staring at my folded hands and Atton looking blank-faced out the window, for most of the trip. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and asked suddenly, "Where are we going? Is it very far from here?" Atton blinked as if my questions had brought him back from a far away world and turned to look at me. A few heartbeats passed before he replied, the sound of the wheels on the road the only thing cutting into the quiet. "We're going to your house." Was his simple reply when he finally spoke. My eyebrows pulled together as I processed his change in behavior. _What's going on..?_ I asked as much, though with a bit more tact.

"It's nothing, I just…well…I'm worried, to be honest." I answered, shrugging slightly, "It's been a good half-hour since the trackers left, and they said your family wasn't very far away. I don't want to upset you…but they should have reported in by now…" I nodded, worried too but not completely surprised. The feeling of doom in the back of my mind had been steadily growing stronger and was absolutely on fire at the moment. Atton's eyes widened. He was obviously alarmed at my lack of shock. Realizing what my reactions were suggesting, I hurriedly clarified as best I could, "I've had a bad feeling since they left is all! This proved my fears to be true…or at least suggested they were..." Immediately, Atton's face relaxed. _He trusts me…well, not completely, or he wouldn't have been alarmed at all, but still…more than anyone else has ever trusted me…_ The knowledge was a pleasant surprise and made a tiny bit of the unfamiliar feelings I'd felt in the hall trickle back into my heart. I mentally shook my head, forcing it away again. _This isn't the time to be wondering whether or not I have more than a little crush on Atton! My family is in danger! _I chastised myself. As I did this, the car pulled into our back drive. This succeeded more than anything else in pushing unwanted thoughts aside. _It's time to get started._ I was excited to be doing something, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to do much more than search for clues the police and trackers would already have found and taken.

The back door was open, left that way, I assumed, by a careless police officer. The cruisers were gone from the driveway in front, and the house seemed deserted. I walked in, careful to avoid the mess all over the floor. Unwilling to relive the sight of the ruined living room, I stared at my feet the whole way across the room to the stairs. My bedroom door was hanging at an odd angle, one hinge wrenched from the door frame. Swallowing the lump of fear that had formed in the back of my throat, I stepped inside what was only barely recognizable as my room.

The Unclean had obviously searched my room very thoroughly, tearing open the boxes I'd yet to unpack and dumping their contents on the floor. My books had been ripped apart, my bed tipped upside down, and even my vanity mirror had been knocked onto its side. Bending over, I picked up a wrinkled page that was partially hidden by a large chunk of the vanity's mirror and read the first sentence. "_The shock of loosing Mad-Eye hung over the house in the days that followed;" _J. K. Rowling's words blurred as tears distorted my vision and spilled down my cheeks. _What do they want from me? Why are they doing this?_ These two questions and the faces of my family circled in my mind faster and faster until all I could do was lean against the wall and sob softly.

I didn't hear him come in, couldn't see him through the salt water pouring from my eyes, but I didn't flinch when he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Atton's kindness somehow only made me sob harder, and I buried my face in the curve of his neck. He didn't speak or complain that I was getting his shirt wet, only tightened his hold slightly and stroked my hair. We stayed like that until my tears ran out and my eyes stung. Having finally cried my grief, I felt immensely better. And very embarrassed.

"T-thank you." I managed to say through my mortification as I pulled free of his embrace. I could feel my face burning as I continued looking through the mess the Unclean had left behind. Atton helped me without replying. I glanced at him, worried that I'd made him angry, and was shocked to see pure fury etched into his handsome features. I stared, hands frozen in the act of lifting my mattress. It was a moment before he realized I wasn't looking for clues anymore and turned to gaze at me. His expression softened a little when his eyes met mine and his lips curved into the ghost of a smile.

"Sorry…" He apologized, though I didn't know what for, and lifted the mattress for me. Obviously, his anger wasn't directed towards me, but I felt sorry for whoever it _was_ directed at.

For a single moment, Atton had resembled his father, eyes cold and face pale, and I had been afraid.

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**Hey! Sorry about the wait! I had a lot of trouble with the chappy. The multifaceted personality I've given Atton is easy to think but hard to put into words. Anyhoo! Hope you enjoy and hope to have 18 up soon! Please review kindly! :)**


	14. Chapter 18 Why do things never go right?

**OK! I finally managed to finish ch. 18!! i hope you like it! I'm a little worried at what you may think of this one. I was a little more lovey dovey than usual...but hey! i have to get that part of the story going at some point!! Hope you enjoy and so sorry about the long wait! PLEASE REVIEW!! and if you have any critisism, bad, good, or constructive, please don't hesitate to tell me! I'd love to know what you think of my story and what i might need to to to make it deeper or have more class! anyhoo! again, hope you enjoy!! **

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Ch. 18

My original assumptions had proven true. Atton and I had meticulously searched every corner of my ruined house and hadn't found a single lead as to why or where the Unclean had taken my family. Collapsing onto the worn living room sofa, I sighed heavily, overwhelmed with both physical and mental exhaustion. "At least, I only cried once." I muttered to myself, grasping at any good thing within reach, "I can't fall apart now." Soft footsteps marked the approach of Atton, now the only person I felt I could trust, and I stopped muttering to glance at him. The fury I'd seen before no longer haunted his face, though traces of it still remained in the way his lips formed a thin line on his face and his fingers twitched soundlessly. I had a feeling that he was only holding himself back for my benefit.

"Find anything?" I asked, trying to squash the last tiny piece of hope in my heart before I was disappointed again. It had been Atton's job to search the last room, my parent's. I had tried to help him at first, but seeing their wedding picture broken on the floor had been more than I could handle. Eye's apologetic, Atton shook his head and sat down next to me with a tired sigh. I waited for him to speak first, afraid that my voice would give away the defeat that was crushing my chest. "We need to make a new plan." He said decisively without turning to look me in the face. I nodded, staring straight ahead, knowing that he did the same so I wouldn't see that he was less confident than he sounded.

"Well…" I finally trusted myself to speak. "Why don't we try and find out where the trackers went from here?" I wasn't sure if that could even be done, and my sentence came out sounding like a question. Atton sat up suddenly, life returning to his eyes. "Of course! If we could figure that out, we'd find your family in no time!" He grew quiet again, obviously not knowing how to go about learning this particular piece of vital information. I waited, hoping that a good idea would hit one of us. _If only Atton were a vampire! _I found myself thinking in my desperation. _He'd be able to catch their scent and we'd be on our way!_ The thought brought back the memory of him telling me he was already part vampire and how close he'd come to Turning completely that day when the bus had been attacked by the Unclean. _Maybe he doesn't need to be a true vampire…_ My voice quivered with both excitement and fear of what Atton would say when I spoke aloud.

"Atton! You're part vampire, aren't you? Do you think your nose is sensitive enough to catch their scent?" Atton glanced at me, eyes wide. This had apparently not occurred to him. His eyebrows furrowed as he thought this over. "Maybe...I've never had any reason to go hunting by scent before…I can try, but I can't make any promises…" I nodded feverishly, excitement filling every fiber of my body, making my fingers twitch randomly to begin. I seemed to transfer a bit of that excitement to Atton, for he stood quickly and practically ran outside to try his luck. For lack of anything better to do for the moment, I stood and followed at a slower pace. I stopped at the doorway and watched him dart around my backyard. Atton paused here and there, causing my heart to flutter every time, but he would always shake his head and move to a new spot.

It took a long time. So long that my last hope was all but gone, and I was about to speak up and tell him it had been worth a try when he turned and waved frantically for me to come join him where he was standing next to the old oak tree. Heart lifting, I hurried to reach him.

"I found it! Barylle's scent! There's no mistaking it!" Atton was practically jumping up and down with joy and pride at what he'd accomplished. I grinned silently at him, my voice stuck fast in my throat. I don't know what I was thinking as I stepped closer to him and let my forehead rest gently on his shoulder, but I knew what I was feeling. Happiness, gratitude at all he was doing for me, relief that we may have finally found something real to go on, and, though I still refused to give it a name, that strange emotion that made me want to lift my arms from where they hung limply at my sides, wrap them securely around Atton's waist, and never let go. All these things gave me the courage and daring to do what I was doing.

_After all…_I thought as the smell of his clothes filled my nose, _I'm only leaning my forehead on his shoulder…friends can do that…_

After a few moments that passed too quickly and yet seemed to drag on forever, I lifted my head and gave Atton an apologetic smile. He smiled back, an unreadable expression on his face. He'd become very still when my forehead had landed on his shoulder and hadn't made any moves to push me away. I could only hope that I hadn't pushed too far or crossed some kind of line in my recklessness. Trying to act like my face wasn't burning as bright as the sun, I turned to where Atton had caught Barylle's scent.

"So, can you follow it? I guess if you can't we can head off in that direction and hope for the best…" Atton moved to stand directly next to me and sniffed at the spot he'd pointed out before, then, still sniffing, he moved a few steps toward the section of gate directly in front of him. Turning, he motioned with his index finger in a cute little "come here" way for me to follow. I grinned to hide the way that simple casual action gave my already frazzled nerves a jolt and did as he bid me.

"I think I can track them. His smell gets faint and then stronger and back again, but it's always there." He fell silent, letting me decide what to do next.

_Here goes nothing…_ "Let's go." I said before I could lose my nerve. I wasn't afraid of finding the Unclean, though I knew I should be. It was the forest beyond my house that frightened me. The things I'd experienced in woods like these had caused an instinctual fear to grow deep in my heart, making it hard to make my feet move from where they stood rooted ten feet away from the tree line.

As if he could sense my misgivings, Atton smiled soothingly at me and entwined his hand with mine for the third time, letting me know wordlessly that he would be there for me. That unnamed emotion swelled so strongly at that moment I almost stumbled as I took my first step. Embarrassed, I played it off as clumsiness and forced the bothersome feeling away. No matter how heavily I locked it in its cage, that stupid thing kept catching me off guard!

We walked for hours, pausing every few paces so Atton could sniff at a rock or the side of tree. The farther we walked, the denser the trees became until their thick branches blocked out the dimming light of the sun and seemed to loom over us. I shrank against Atton's side, my imagination turning every rustle and snapped twig into invisible assailants. Forcing my legs to move any farther would have been impossible if Atton hadn't been with me, intentionally brushing my shoulder with his to remind me that he was there. More than once, a sudden sound scared me into burying my face in his arm. When this happened, he'd stopped sniffing or walking and whisper gentle words into my ear until I'd calmed down enough to keep going. I felt like a child afraid of monsters in my closet. If I hadn't been so terrified, I would have been mortified to be stricken with such fear by a few trees. Atton by now probably thought I was silly and had cast away any thoughts he may have been entertaining of trying to be more than my best friend.

It's strange, how when you're scared out of your mind random things you wouldn't usually think about pop into your head. I suppose it's your mind's way of distracting itself from whatever's gotten it so upset. The moment I thought the words "best friend," I knew they were true. Atton and I had become friends in the weeks that I was stuck in my wheelchair, and had always been at least mutual acquaintances, but we'd become miles closer since he'd finally showed up again at the hospital. That had happened only this morning, but it seemed as if we'd made years of progress in the hours since then. Maybe we had. Through all the horrible things today, I knew that at least one good thing had happened.

Atton and I had become best friends.

"Stop." After walking so long without speaking, Atton's sudden command made me jump. His eyebrows furrowed in brooding confusion, Atton gently pried his hand from my bone crunching grip and stood on his toes to study a deep gash in the side of a dying cedar. The wound looked fresh, maybe a few hours old, with sap slowly oozing down it like blood. I swallowed down the knot of fear that swelled in the back of my throat and moved to get a better look. It was too wide and deep for a squirrel, and these forests didn't have any carnivores bigger than coyote, which aren't tall enough to have gashed it so high.

"Barylle's scent stops here, but there's new ones. A lot of them. The Unclean must have ambushed the seekers." He was staring at the gash, the only physical clue as to what had happened here, with a grave frown twisting his mouth downward. I didn't know what to say. If the Unclean were numerous enough to have overpowered the seekers, what could we, a human and half-vampire, do? I didn't give voice to my worries, though. This time, it was Atton's turn to make the next decision. I had no idea the full power of a single vampire, let alone a whole group of them. He stood staring at the gash without seeming to really be seeing anything for a long moment before he blinked and nodded to himself.

"I think we should at least find where they are." Atton began, his voice sounding overly loud in the midst of so much silence, "Once we know, we can go back and call father for help. I'll tell him Barylle was able to send word before he was captured so he won't be angry with us for going after them ourselves, though he probably already knows." I nodded, seeing the wisdom in his words. It took only a second for Atton to learn the direction the Unclean's scent was going. The group that had captured the seekers was so large they might as well have painted a red line showing where they were going. Even I could tell which direction to go, what with all the broken branches and footprints they'd left in their wake. Obviously, they didn't have any need to use caution so far away from civilization and the Purebloods.

After five minutes, the scent led to an animal trail wide enough for Atton and me to walk side by side without worrying about roots or branches getting in our way and tripping us. The ground here was trampled flat by the passing of many feet, and it was obvious that the Unclean used this as a way to get from place to place in the forest. This made us very cautious for fear one of our enemies would turn the corner. It was obvious that it bothered Atton to be in the center of a trail so well traveled but the scent faded to nothing whenever we tried to walk among the trees and we couldn't risk missing it if it suddenly curved off in another direction.

"I don't like this." Atton whispered softly, not daring to raise his voice. I shivered, in complete agreement. We'd been following the trail for an hour now, and what little light that had been filtered through the canopy above was long gone. None of the scents Atton was picking up were any younger than a few hours old, and that only caused our paranoia to grow. Why hadn't we had to hide from approaching Unclean yet? The odds of walking down such a well trod enemy road and not running into anyone were small indeed, yet we saw no one.

At long last, the scent curved off the trail to the left and we gratefully left it for the trees. After all my fear before I never thought I'd be glad to walk back into the forest's shadows, but after the horribly exposed feeling of the trail, they were welcome company. By now it had grown so dark I had to hold onto the back of Atton's shirt and let his more sensitive eyes lead the way. He stiffened a bit at my touch and I wondered again if I'd crossed a line when I'd let my emotions get the best of me before. I didn't have a chance to fully panic on this thought because at that moment Atton stopped, causing me to walk into his back.

"What's wrong?" I whispered in his ear, trying to see into the darkness around us. He didn't answer. I turned to squint at the place I thought his face was. I could just make out his outline, but that was enough to see how still he was standing. I swallowed a lump of fear in my throat and moved to stand closer to him, trying not to even breathe loudly. Atton's hand closed around my arm and I had to cover my mouth to keep from crying out at the unexpected touch. With a twitch of his head I could barely see, Atton told me to follow him. I did so, letting him pull me back the way we'd come. He stopped me after two or three hundred yards and finally spoke in a muted whisper.

"They're just through those trees. We almost walked right into them. I think they're sleeping 'cause all I could hear was breathing and tiny movements." I nodded, both thrilled to have finally found them and terrified in a way I hadn't been since Barylle had thrown that awful sack over my head.

"What should we do?" I asked, afraid of the answer. Atton shrugged and pondered for a moment. I shifted from foot to foot as I waited, restless for a new plan.

"I know I said we should call father, but if they're sleeping I think we should try to find out where they're keeping Barylle and the other seekers. If we can set them free we won't need to bring him into this. It's up to you, Wednesday. I can't ask you to put your life on the line for my friends and wouldn't if I could." Atton watched me as he spoke, and, though I couldn't see his features, I could hear the sincerity in his voice. _Should I..? Barylle kidnapped me on Amilio's orders…can I really risk the lives of my family as well as my own? _Atton's arm brushed mine in the darkness, and I knew my answer. Yes, I could. Barylle may have kidnapped me but he also willingly set out to help me find my family when he was under no obligations to.

"Yes…let's go." I answered at length, "If we're going to do this, I say we do it now. No use waiting around." A soft sigh was Atton's response, but in the darkness I couldn't tell what kind. Without another word, we started back to where Atton had said the Unclean were camped. My hand brushed against Atton's as we picked our way through the undergrowth and my fingers found their way into his almost without trying. He held my hand back without a word. I smiled to myself, glad at last to know nothing had changed between us. Atton was the kind of friend that took handholding as a sign of companionship, and I knew that as long as we could hold hands like this we were ok.

Atton slowed our steps as we neared the spot we'd stopped only minutes before. Of course, in the dark everything looked the same to me. Atton crouched slowly, giving me time to follow his lead, and began to push through a break in the bushes between us and the sleeping Unclean. Five tents were set up around a still smoking camp fire, and a few bodies slept in sleeping bags around its dwindling warmth. I blinked, slow to realize that I could see, and glanced around to find the source of the faint light that seemed to be coming from every direction. Oil lamps on tall poles lined the perimeter of the camp, casting an eerie light on our sleeping enemies.

At least we thought they were sleeping.

So fast I didn't even have time to react, what seemed like a dozen hands closed firmly around my arms and shoulders, locking me in place. Cold fingers closed over my mouth before I could scream and I heard Atton cry out my name before he too was overtaken by the ten or eleven men and women that had appeared out of nowhere. It took more of them to hold Atton than me, and I watched in muted horror as they wrestled to control him. At one point, Atton managed to bite the hand that covered his mouth, and he was free to speak for a few precious seconds.

"Wednesday! I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to-" With one final struggle, the Unclean managed to subdue and silence him. Tears streamed down my cheeks and onto the hand of my capture as I witnessed firsthand the strength of a vampire. Atton was only part vampire but during their fight he'd moved so fast he and his attackers had become blurs. As I watched, one of the women slapped Atton with her free hand, causing his head to snap sideways. I jumped, surprised at the blatant hate on her face.

"That's quite enough, Elaine." A deep voice sounded from the entrance to the largest tent. Distracted, I let my gaze land on the man now standing only feet from me. Moments ago he'd been twenty feet away. He was tall, like all the vampires I'd had the pleasure and misfortune to meet, but unlike the Purebloods he and the people holding us were dark-skinned as if they spent every moment of the day out in the sun. I shuttered violently, a new terror gripping my heart.

Before me stood the man that had started all of this. The man I'd witnessed attacking a women in the woods. He stared at me with deep set blue eyes, eyes not unlike Amilio's, and a spark of recognition sparkled in their depths.

"Hello again, dear."


	15. Chapter 19 Visiting an old friend

Ch. 19

"You know this girl, Lord Baine?" The woman that had slapped Atton asked. Her voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It held a malice that I knew was directed at Atton and me. Baine nodded, never taking his eyes off of me and made a gesture with his right hand. The hand over my mouth released and reappeared on my back to push me sprawling onto the ground. I stayed there, déjà vu setting in as I remembered a similar situation with an entirely different breed of vampires, and waited for Baine to speak. He didn't. Instead, he cupped my chin in his surprisingly warm hand and gently but firmly lifted my face to look at him. His eyes were just as hard to look at as Amilio's had been, and I found myself having to stare at his nose to keep from flinching.

"Do you remember me, girl?" His voice dripped with power, demanding I reply truthfully. I nodded, afraid to speak. I would never forget his face, covered in the blood he'd stolen from that innocent woman. I'd thought he was pail then, but I realized that that had been an illusion, perhaps of his doing. I had the common sense not to ask. A small satisfied smile crossed Baine's lips, and he pulled me to my feet. Seemingly done with me for now, he moved to stand in front of Atton. Unthinkingly, I took a step towards them, a wordless cry on my lips, but the hands immediately wrapped back around my mouth and arms, subduing me again. Baine stared at me, blatant surprise on his face.

"You seem very protective of this boy…tell me, what is your relationship? Friends? Perhaps something more?" Baine watched me as he spoke, his eyes like daggers that trapped me in their gaze. Slowly, he lifted his hand, extended one long nail, and ran it down Atton's cheek. Atton jumped, and I bucked against the hands holding me as a thin trickle of blood squeezed out of the cut Baine had made on Atton's face. At my reaction, a smug look crossed his face and he walked back to stand in front of me again.

"This has been quite a fortunate day for me. After all, we caught the Pureblood's entire tracking unit, the girl I've been searching for came to me of her own choice, and we even secured the Pureblood's heir." Baine's smile widened from smug happiness into one of cold cruelty. "Of course, we won't have them for much longer." I knew immediately what he meant and the tears I'd cried earlier returned, though now they burned with hatred for the man that stood before me. The fierce emotion gave me strength, and I bit down onto the hand over my mouth with all my might. It wasn't enough to cause the vampire pain, but his grip loosened and disappeared. I took the opportunity to ask what I needed to know above all else.

"What have you done with my family?! What do you want from them?" I paused, his words sinking in. _The girl I've been searching for came to me of her own choice. _"No…I guess I should ask what you want from me…" Baine's grin widened, his fangs shining eerily in the lamplight. I shivered, and the man holding my arms tightened his hold. The one who'd held my mouth hadn't put his hand back, and I glanced in the direction his hand had disappeared.

What I saw shocked me to the core.

The hand belonged to a boy who looked no older than I was with skin darker even than Baine's. The boy was on the ground, clutching at his hand. As I watched, it began to turn to ash, starting at the bridge between his thumb and index finger. _Where I bit him…_I realized with a jolt. The boy was screaming now, his arm almost completely gone, and I could do nothing but watch. Crying desperate tears, the boy cried out for someone, anyone, so make it stop. No one moved. Helpless, I could only watch as the ash crawled up his forearm. When the ash started to creep up his neck, I couldn't look anymore, and turned my face away. Baine was there in a flash, his hand firmly around my chin.

"No. You will watch what you have done. This," He forced me to look at the boy again, his body still now as the ash had consumed his head. "Is what I want from you. You, a human, hold the power to kill vampires, Pureblood and Unclean alike. I will turn you into one of us and teach you how to control it. You will be able to kill with nothing but a touch, and you will be loyal to none but me!" He began to shake me as he spoke, his voice thick with the cruel promise that I would be one of them whether I wanted to be or not. _But wait…I'm an inductee of the Purebloods! He mustn't know that if he thought he could make me an Unclean. _With this revelation, a tiny spark of hope ignited in my heart.

"I will never be loyal to you," With sheer will power, I made my voice cold and soft. "Nor will I become an Unclean. I have already been claimed by the Purebloods, and I chose them." Disbelief flashed across Baine's eyes but he quickly hid it. With an arrogant laugh, Baine motioned with his hand and the man holding me spun me around. I knew what Baine was going to do and didn't resist, not even when his nails grazed my neck, leaving shallow cuts. I felt rather than heard the group's shock as the back of my shirt was torn open to reveal the family crest tattooed onto the skin of my back. Roughly, Baine spun me back around and slapped my face so hard I saw spots.

"How dare they take you first! How dare you let them!" He slapped me again, fury marring his ageless features, and I tasted blood. "They will not have you! If I cannot have your power, then no one can!" With this, a blood-curdling cry escaped his lips and he raised his hand, long nails extended. I closed my eyes, knowing that I'd made a mistake in telling him what I was. The death blow never came. Instead, the man holding me was torn away, and I opened my eyes to find the whole camp gripped in grave battle. Barylle was there, fighting the woman that had slapped Atton, and Amilio, who was locked hand in hand with Baine. For I moment I could only watch and wonder at how quiet it was for such a battle to be happening, then realized that Baine must have busted one of my eardrums when he'd slapped me the second time. A hand closed around my shoulder, and I whirled around, my hands clawing at my would-be attacker, but it was only Atton.

"We need to go! We're no use in a battle between vampires!" He was yelling, but I could barely hear him. Ignoring this, I nodded and we ran towards the tree line. Only when the light from the lanterns and the faint but there sounds of fighting had subsided did I let myself breathe a sigh of relief. With my ear damaged, I couldn't hear Atton beside me as we ran, but I could feel his warmth and grasped his hand in mine. I knew I was beginning to do this more often than a friend should, but I counted this as a special circumstance. The hand that held mine was slick with something, and, with a sick feeling in my heart, I pulled Atton to a stop.

"What is it?" It was clear by his tone of voice that Atton was anxious to keep going, but I had to see if my gut feeling was right. It was. Upon a search by feel up Atton's arm, I found a short but deep gash on his shoulder. Stifling a sob, I tore I strip from my ripped shirt and wrapped it around the wound, careful not to make it too tight. _He got hurt because I was selfish and couldn't wait for the trackers. This is all my fault._ Grief at what I had caused welled up in my throat and tears I thought I'd run out of streamed down my face. Atton's uninjured arm found my shoulders in the darkness and he rested his chin on the top of my head.

"It's ok." He said and, as if he could read my thoughts, continued, "It's not your fault, Wednesday. None of this is. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one who let you get dragged into this. I could have stopped this, but I missed my chance. I didn't know my father had kidnapped you. If I had, I…I…oh Wednesday, I'm so sorry…" His voice shook as he ran out of words, and I felt his tears as they fell from his chin onto my hair. Now it was my turn to hold him as he cried, knowing he did so not just for me, but for my family and all the things that I'd gone through since moving to Shadyview. We couldn't stay that way for long, however, because we were still too close to the battle. After a few minutes, both of us wiped our eyes and set out again.

We walked for a long time without talking, both of us lost in our own thoughts. _No matter what he thinks, he still got hurt because of me. If I'd just waited like I was supposed to this wouldn't have happened._ My thoughts were still deeply troubled when, an hour later, Atton decided we'd come far enough, and we both sank onto the ground. I almost gave in to exhaustion then, but I knew I couldn't until we were out of the forest. The problem was, which way was that? I asked as much out loud.

"I don't know. We didn't leave the way we came so there's no scent or trail to follow." Atton answered, his voice strained and exhausted. I nodded, and then remembered it was pitch black and said, "Yea…so what do we do?" Atton didn't reply for a while, and I spent the time waiting slowly picking a leave I'd found by my foot to pieces. When it was gone, I just sat and stared blindly straight ahead, too tired to be impatient. Finally, I felt Atton come back to life beside me again and heard him say, "We should probably-who's there!?" I jumped, surprised by his sudden yell, and realized he wasn't beside me anymore. _Someone must have followed us! _I panicked, knowing that we were powerless against even one vampire on our own, even with Atton's strength.

"Relax!" Came the familiar voice. Barylle. Relaxing again, I listened as Atton greeted the man that was both my enemy and friend. I finally managed to feel some impatience as they exchanged relieved words and Barylle chastised Atton for getting himself injured. Finally, Atton asked the questions that were on both our minds. _How had they escaped if they'd been captured and how had the fight ended?_

"Ah. Those are fairly easy questions to answer." Barylle explained in his clipped voice. "As for our escape, Lord Amilio and his guard found us and took down the binding spells keeping us immobile. Before you ask, Amilio followed you here. You didn't honestly think he wouldn't know you'd come after us, did you?" At this, Atton let out a sheepish sigh then began to ask, "Then why did he-"but Barylle cut him off. "He let you get caught for two reasons. He wanted to know what Baine wanted of you Wednesday, and he needed a distraction in order to free us. The fight ended in a stale mate, as these things usually do, and we've both retreated for the time being." As Barylle spoke, a number of emotions clutched at my heart. Anger that Amilio would endanger both our lives and relief that he had because he was able to save the trackers. At that moment it occurred to me that I hadn't asked the one question I'd been asking since their kidnapping.

"What of my family? Did Amilio find them? Are they ok?" Ok, three questions.

"Yes, yes, yes, and you'd be better off referring to Lord Amilio as, well, Lord Amilio. It'd be much easier to get into his good graces if you treated him with the respect his title deserves. Your family's memories are being erased as we speak so that they won't remember any of their no doubt awful experience. Now, we need to…" Barylle's voice faded away as a wave of pure joy and relief washed over my senses. _My family is safe…they're safe…thank God…thank God…_

I don't know how long I sat there silently rejoicing before I passed out, only that when I woke up I was in a very familiar place. The hospital. Apparently, the many bruises and cuts I'd gained when I was kidnapped by the Purebloods, staying up all the next day and night walking through dense woods, then being captured and rescued from the Unclean had finally taken its toll on my body. I blinked around, taking in my surroundings and the machine once again connected to the back of my hand. I moaned. My senses had just come back all at once, and I could suddenly feel every cut, scrape, and bruise on my body.

"You're awake!" A wondrously familiar voice exclaimed. I turned my head in time to see Rosalinda's hair and outstretched arms before I was wrapped in a painfully tight embrace. I didn't care. Rosalinda was here and alive, and I hugged her back with all the strength I could muster. Laughing with happiness, I pushed her away so I could take in her appearance. She looked tired and worried, but otherwise unharmed. I sighed contently, gratitude filling me to the brim. I would be in debt to the Purebloods for a long time for what they had done for me.

"How is the rest of the family? How's mom doing?" I flinched at how ragged my voice sounded. Rosalinda smiled and replied, "They're good! We're all tired out and a little confused but good. The police say our house was broken into and that we disappeared, but none of us remember anything! The doctors did a test on all us girls to make sure we weren't…" Her ears grew red. "You know…" I nodded, seeing the sense in that. "We weren't, much to all of our relief." Her smile returned, and I couldn't help but weakly smile back. For the last few days all I'd been worried about was an Unclean getting hungry and killing them, but it had never occurred to me that a lot of the Unclean were also male. I shook my head, chasing away the awful thought and forced myself to be happy that that hadn't happened and those dearest to me were finally out of harm's way.

"Wednesday..?" Rosalinda began, her voice uncertain. The abrupt change in her mood immediately caught my attention. "What happened to you? The police said you showed up at the house looking like you'd been attacked and went into shock when you found out what happened to us, then disappeared like the rest of us only to show up again being carried into the ER by some boy that would only say he was a friend and that you needed help…do you remember any of that? They say we showed up not three hours later, just as banged up as you were…" She trailed off, obviously at a loss for what to ask or say next. I sighed, not sure how to begin. _They don't need to know about the things out there…_ The voice of reason in the back of my head spoke up, and, for once, I listened.

"I don't know…" I lied, "everything is so blurry it's like I dreamt it…I can't make out faces our even remember if I was scared…" Rosalinda nodded, believing me without question. A pang of guilt stabbed my heart at her whole-hearted trust, but I locked it away, determined to keep what I knew concealed for their protection. "I remember walking into the house and seeing what a mess it was…what mom looked like covered in bruises and wires…but that's about it…" Despite my resolve to keep things a secret, I still felt the urge to tell her at least one truth. I would never forget my shock at the sight of our mother in that state, of the house ruined to an almost unrecognizable mess.

"It's ok, sis…mom is going to be fine with a bit of rest and good food in her system. So is everyone else." I smiled at the name Rosalinda used to call me when she was trying to calm me down during one of my rare tantrums as a child. Then she continued, and my smile was forgotten. "We're mostly worried about you since you seem to have the worst injuries. Your eardrum is busted almost beyond repair, you have bruises from head to toe, three huge cuts on the back of your neck, and the list just goes on and on!" That didn't sound as bad as she seemed to think it was, apart from my ear, but it did inspire fear at what they found when the doctors saw my back. I couldn't ask without drawing attention to the area. _Guess all I can do is hope…_

The sound of the door opening caught my attention, and I looked up to see Atton as he walked into the room, my father following close behind him. Dad seemed to be fine other than a pronounced scowl of annoyance. I felt a moment of confusion at the expression before I realized it was directed at the back of Atton's head. _Hmm…that might be bad…_ My dad obviously didn't think my state was Atton's fault but didn't appear to be far from casting him the blame. I would need to explain what I could in a way that made it clear Atton was innocent and had saved my life. The look on my father's face vanished the moment he saw that I was awake, and he rushed across the room to smother me in a hug much like my sister had. For him to display such open emotion meant that he'd been terrified out of his wits. I smiled, trying to lesson his fears and let him see that I was fine.

Through all of this, Atton stood respectfully in the corner staring at his feet, letting us have as long as we needed. At length, dad admitted that he'd come to fetch Rosalinda to get some lunch while Atton took over her post waiting for me to wake up. I nodded, sad to see them go but realizing that Atton needed to speak with me alone. I made them promise to come back soon before I'd let either of them leave the room. No matter how much of a debt I owed Atton and his family, _my _family's safety would always come first.

Once the door had slowly swung closed again and the sounds of their feet retreating had faded, Atton stepped away from the wall and sat on the side of my bed. If not for the grim expression on his face, the situation would have sent my heart racing. As it was, I was more worried about what news Atton had to share.

It was a moment before he spoke. A moment he spent scrutinizing his hands that were neatly folded in his lap. "The battle didn't continue after the retreat, but we lost a tracker and the Unclean lost two of their runners." Atton said, his voice soft enough that I had to lean forward to hear him properly. Or maybe that was because of my ear. Whatever the reason, I found myself only inches from his face as he continued, "Your family's minds have been erased, as I've no doubt you already know, in order to preserve our secret. I hate that it had to be done, but humans knowing our secret, especially humans that can be used to influence us, is a very dangerous thing. I'm sorry…" At last I understood the grim set of Atton's jaw. He must have convinced himself that I'd hate him for what they did to my family. The idea of hating Atton made me laugh for the first time in days. He blinked at me, surprise and confusion causing his jaw to go slack.

"Don't worry! I don't hate you, silly! I'm glad they can't remember what happened to them…and if remembering puts them in danger then I'd do the memory tampering myself if I knew how…" In an attempt to lighten his mood, I punched him gently on the arm and grinned. It seemed to work because he smiled a little and relief shown in his eyes. At that moment, I remembered the wound on his shoulder and unthinkingly reached out a hand to pull his collar away to see if it was still there. The action brought me less than an inch away from Atton's face, and I immediately forgot how to breathe. Embarrassed and blushing, I tried to pull away, but Atton's face followed. Eyes wide, I stared at him as he pressed his forehead against mine, then relaxed a little when he didn't do anything more. He stayed that way, eyes closed, for long enough that I ventured asking about his shoulder.

"It's healed." He answered without moving away or opening his eyes. I could feel his breath on my lips and tried not to imagine what it would be like if I lifted my chin enough to press them against his. After a pause, Atton continued, "It was deeper than I thought it was, but thanks to you I didn't lose much blood. There isn't even a scar there thanks to Selena. Thank you." With that, he lapsed back into silence. For a long moment, I listened to the air move in and out of his lungs, wondering what might be going through his thoughts. I got my answer when, a minute or so later, Atton opened his mouth to speak.

"I can't imagine the horrors who've gone through because of me…I'm so sorry…I'd give anything to go back in time and prevent this from happening…I wish-"

"You idiot!" I interrupted him. "How in the world could you think that all of this is your fault? It wasn't your fault I was stupid enough to go into the woods alone to find that coward's hacky sack! That's where all of this began! Yes, the Unclean attacked the bus to get to you, but that would have been the end of things if I hadn't forgotten my promise to stay with you during the field trip!" By the time I finished my little speech, I was panting with my sudden anger and the effort of raising my voice. For a long moment, Atton merely stared at me in slack-jawed shock. Just to tick him off, I lifted a finger and pushed his mouth closed. He blinked, apparently coming back to his senses, and a grin spread across his face.

"You really are amazing, you know that?" He whispered, his eyes dancing with awe and respect. The machine hooked into my arm began to beep faster as the sudden change in the atmosphere chased my anger away and replaced it with nervous apprehension. Atton chuckled to himself once, his irregular breaths making my skin tingle where they caressed it. I don't know who lifted their face first, him or me, but his lips were amazingly soft and folded around mine perfectly. One warm hand cupped my chin, and I felt like I might melt into nothing. I'd always wondered what my first kiss would be like and if I'd like it or not.

It was bliss.

Then someone cleared their throat, Atton's lips pulled away, and the spell was broken. Slightly dazed, I glanced at my father standing in the doorway, whose ears were red with a mixture of embarrassment and fatherly protectiveness. Growing red myself, I ducked my head in mortification and saw Atton do the same, though his face bore an expression more along the lines of terror. There's nothing more horrifying than a dad who's just walked into a room and caught a boy giving his daughter her first kiss. Dad played it cool, though, coughing softly and offering me leftovers like nothing had happened. After a while, I was glad to see Atton relax a little again.

Atton. A boy I'd known for mere weeks but had grown to know, respect, and maybe one day love. I still couldn't give a name to the emotion he invoked in me, but I knew that it was the beginning of something amazing. I could only hope that one day Atton would come to feel the same. For now, however, our kiss was a wondrous ending to a long and terrifying ordeal.

The only problem was, I knew that this was far from the end. There could never be a happy ending with the Unclean and Purebloods at war. That day I prayed to God to give me strength for what was to come. Things could only get harder from now on.

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**OMG!! Finally!!!! KISS OF THE MAIN CHARACTORS!!!! 0-o!! I hope enjoy reading this chap as much as i enjoyed writing it!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! Even if you don't usually review chapters, i'm begging you! Look! I'm on my virtual knees!! And any critiscism you might have, good, bad, or constructive would ROCK!! Thank you so much for reading and i hope you stick around for more ch.s!!**


	16. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

SPECIAL ALERT!!

I, the author of this (hopefully) good story, have finally found a title that I love! I of course changed it immediately! This is the same "One of Those Save the World Stories" that you all (hopefully?) love! I pray that you will (Hopefully?!) continue to read and review my story! I love you all!!


	17. Chapter 20 Finally a return to normal

Ch. 20

The next few days were a blur of happy reunions. The doctors released me with a warning to never go anywhere by myself and a bottle of pain meds for my many bruises. The meds were silly and went untouched, but I took their advice to heart, making sure to always have Reasonable or dad by my side whenever I wanted to go for a walk or to the store. Atton became a regular visitor at the house and could be seen helping mom clean the dishes or Reasonable rebuild a piece of our ruined furniture. My parents had been skeptical of him at first but grew to all but worship the ground he walked on once I'd explained that he'd found and rescued me by himself. The lies had popped from my mouth with a shocking ease when they, the doctors, and then the police questioned me on what had happened. The story went more or less like this.

I'd stayed in the hospital with mom for a while before taking a walk to try and clear my head. I was somewhere behind the hospital when a man in black grabbed me from behind and knocked me out with some kind of drug. The next night and day were unrecognizable blurs in my memory. The earliest thing I remember is being cut loose from the ropes tying me to a tree and carried away in Atton's arms. He kept whispering that everything was ok and that he was going to find help. I passed out after that and woke up in the hospital.

It was short, believable, and didn't put any of the Pureblood's secrets at risk. Everyone was happy. Except me. I didn't like that Atton never had news about his family or a message from Amilio. I knew that that should be good news, but it only troubled my heart like an itch I couldn't scratch. Finally, when a week had past, I couldn't take not knowing anything anymore and asked Atton, who was busy weeding the flower beds, if I could help him. He nodded, focused on a rather stubborn root next to mom's favorite roses. I worked with him silently for a while, wondering how to begin, but just as I was about to speak, Atton cut me off.

"I know what you're going to ask. Amilio asked this morning if you'd be willing to have an audience with him. He wants to discuss what happened to that Unclean you bit." Annoyance quickly overshadowed my surprise at this news. Why hadn't Atton bothered to tell me? I asked him so.

"You actually want to go?" He whispered, his hands frozen in the action of yanking up a dandelion. I understood at once why he hadn't told me. He'd thought, with good reason, that an audience with Amilio would be the last thing I wanted right now. Holding back a giggle at his stricken expression, I nodded and asked how soon we could leave. He shrugged, leaving it up to me. It was obvious he didn't understand why I was so excited about this, but all I could think about was finding mom. She was in the kitchen, cleaning up the mess from lunch. After the usual warning to keep the door open when we were alone in a room together and to be polite to his parents, she agreed that I could go to Atton's this afternoon for dinner. Pleased, I ran back outside to tell Atton what my mother had said.

"That's good, I guess…" He answered, a shadow passing over his features. I blinked at him, confused, and he, upon seeing my expression, continued, "I just don't like the way my father talks about you. Like you're a prize to be won. It sets my stomach on edge." His words sent a slight chill down my spine, but I ignored it. When I'd told Baine that I'd chosen the Purebloods, I'd been serious. I didn't like the idea of belonging to a family of strangers, but I knew that they were the right side to be on and that any complaining now would be pointless. That was one of the reasons I needed to talk to Amilio. I wanted to formally and willingly give him my loyalty with only a few conditions. I wouldn't kill any vampires if I could help it. My power, now that I knew what it was, would only be used in the direst of circumstances and even then reluctantly. It was one thing to take a life on accident but quite another to do so intentionally. Another condition was that, while I would be loyal to Amilio, I still have some kind of freedom. I wasn't an object to lock away and covet. Lastly and most important by far, my family was for no reason to be brought into the Pureblood's war. They were to remain safe and guarded until this was all over.

I didn't say all of this to Atton, however. I only wanted to say all of that once in case I lost my nerve. Instead, I smiled what I hoped was a reassuring smile and got back to work beside him. We worked for the next two hours in a friendly silence. These quiet times with Atton were one thing I loved most about or friendship. Atton understood that silence didn't always mean a lack of connection and never tried to fill every second with idle chatter. It was during these moments that the worries tugging at my heart and mind calmed, my breathing slowed, and my smiles became genuine. I was at peace, if only for a little while.

"Wednesday." Atton's voice was a soft whisper close to my ear. "The driver is here. If you really want to see Amilio, this is the time." I blinked, realizing that he must have gotten a call without my notice. Shaking the shattered remnants of peace from my mind, I nodded quickly, put down the hand shovel I'd been using to pry out the last of the dandelions, and stood. A few quick hugs goodbye and a couple more warnings to behave passed before I finally sank into the backseat of the car. I smiled apologetically as Atton slid in beside me and explained that my family wasn't used to me having guy friends. The fact that they were so grateful to him made things easier, though. Atton laughed his silky laugh, lighting up the atmosphere as easily as lighting a match, and I felt the usual tingle in my toes at the sound.

We hadn't kissed since that day in the hospital or even brought it up. It had been a wonderful moment between two friends that had been to hell and back again but nothing more. I knew better than to push our relationship when it was going so well the way things were. We still held hands sometimes when we had a rare moment to ourselves, but that too was just a mark of our companionship. There was something about the way Atton's hand cupped mine, the fingers wrapped around my palm, never entwining in mine, that plainly said that we were friends and only friends. So long as he only ever held my hand in that way, I knew not to tread the line between friendship and being a couple. _Still…I'm curious why he kissed me…is it ok to ask?_ For a long moment, my thoughts battled with each other, trying to decide if it was wise to, but eventually curiosity one.

"Atton…" I began, then paused to swallow the lump of worry in my throat. He looked at me, one eyebrow raised questioningly. _It's too late to back out now…you've already got his attention! Just ask!_ My tiny, bolder side ordered, and I listened. "I've been meaning to ask…Why did you kiss me that day? Don't get me wrong, it was wonderful, and I needed a bit of happiness, but I'm still curious…" I shut my mouth, horrified at what I'd let slip. _Why? Why oh why did I say that last bit!?_ I stared at my fidgeting hands, terrified to look up at his expression, and waited for the painful reply. It was long in coming. So long I was afraid he was going to ignore the question and embarrassing statement all together, but then he finally spoke.

"I don't really know…It just seemed to happen…" He didn't say anything more, apparently at a loss for words. _He's just as confused about it as I am! _The knowledge calmed my fears, and I managed to smile at him. At this, he visibly relaxed. _Had he been afraid of my reaction?_ The idea struck me as hilarious for some reason, and I suddenly couldn't stop myself from giggling. Soon my giggles were full out guffaws, and Atton was laughing alongside me. I wasn't even sure why we were laughing, but it was refreshing to just let go. We were still chuckling breathlessly when we pulled into Atton's drive, and the driver let us out with an amused look on his handsome features.

Seeing the vampire reminded me of why I was here, and my laughter died on my lips. Atton's seemed to fade away the moment he saw the seriousness of my expression, and he immediately took the lead towards the main entrance. The manor was the same as I remembered it. Huge and opulent. Even the little bushes lining the driveway were cut into neat little squares. Again, I found myself feeling dwarfed next to its immense size. These oppressing thoughts were forced from my mind the moment the door was pulled open by the butler, and I beheld the frenzied bustle of servants running all over the place.

There was one difference this time, though. Instead of ignoring me like they had before, many stopped to politely ask if I needed anything or paused to give a respectful bow. Some simply stopped working and watched me pass with a mixture of curiosity and awe. The whole experience weirded me out, and I found myself practically stepping on Atton's heels in my haste to get away from their strange stares. He seemed to understand, quickly finding the door he was looking for and closing it behind us, effectively blocking my view of them as well as their view of me.

The door led to a stretch of hall I'd never seen before that had only one pair of double doors at its end. These were unpainted and covered in extremely detailed carvings of eagles and other birds of prey. Above them all, a dragon with crimson eyes stretched out its powerful wings as if to protect its brothers in the sky. Its eyes seemed to hold a deep intelligence behind their glittering depths, and I found myself staring into them, trying to read what secrets they might hold. A soft touch broke my concentration, and I turned to see Atton motioning silently that Amilio was through those double doors. Knowing I would have to pass under the dragon's gaze sent a strange thrill through my spine, but I chose to ignore it and strode forward.

Amilio's office was just that. An office. Simple in design and completely different than the carved figures guarding its entrance suggested. It could have been a doctor's office or even a secretary's. Somehow, this only served to increase the aura of Amilio's power. It rippled almost tangibly through the air, making it thick and heavy as it passed through my lungs. I gulped, losing a bit of my resolve. How was I supposed to demand conditions from a man like this? _Simple! Tell him what you want and let him think it over. If he doesn't agree with some of it, try to compromise. _My bolder side spoke out once again. I noticed that it was slowly becoming a larger part of my personality, though whether or not that was a good thing was yet to be seen. Still, listening to it hadn't gotten me killed yet.

"I want to swear my loyalty to the Bricks family. I have only three conditions. All of which, I like to think, are simple and wouldn't require too much effort." It took all of my bravery to say that with an even voice, even more to do so while looking him in the eye. Luckily, he was very calm, and his eyes weren't infused with their normal level of blinding power. To my surprise, a tiny corner of his mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile.

"And what might those conditions be, dear?" He asked, voice gentle.

I gulped and, drawing strength from Atton's presence behind me, started speaking.

"First, and this is the most important one, I want my family out of this. I want them under guard until your, our, war is over and they're no longer in harm's way. Second, I want freedom to do as I please. For example, if I needed a walk to clear my head, I want to do so without an army of vampires guarding my every step. One or two would be enough. And lastly, I won't use my power simply to dispose of a nuisance for you. I will only use it if I absolutely must. Mine is a dangerous power that I will not allow to be taken advantage of. I believe these are reasonable requests." The moment I finished, my throat constricted, worn out with the effort of sounding calm against its will. It was all I could do not to start coughing as I waited for Amilio's response. For a long moment, he watched me, his eyes distant and calculating. I tried not to fidget under his gaze as I waited.

"You're right…" He said at last, and his voice held a small note of weary consent. "Those are most definitely reasonable terms, and I am inclined to agree to them. However, on one note I'm afraid I must be adamant. You will have a minimum of four guards at all times. They will stay hidden, of course, so as not to arouse suspicion, but that is the smallest number I will allow." At this, I couldn't help but let a small smile break across my face. Four guards weren't so bad so long as I knew my family was safe and that I wouldn't need to kill any vampires any time soon. I still had no idea how I was going to be able to do that last part. An immortal life was still a life, and the thought of taking one willingly made my stomach turn. I was the kind of girl that mourned when I saw a dead dog or cat on the side of the road. How on earth was I going to take the lives of others? I wasn't stupid enough to voice these concerns in front of Amilio, however, and kept my mouth shut tight.

"Lord Amilio…" I began, remembering just in time that lord had to be put before his name when I spoke to him personally. I wanted to know why his servants were acting the way they were, but I didn't know how to word it. "Your maids and servants…they were all bowing and offering me things…why is that?" It wasn't the best way to ask it, but it would do. Amilio's lips lifted into a pleased grin, catching me by surprise. I'd been under the impression that the man never let his emotions leak out of his eyes.

"My dear, you've become quite the little celebrity in the Bricks family! Once they knew what you, a mere human, had gone through simply to save those close to you and that you'd stopped Baine from killing Atton, they fell in love. They're excited to have an inductee with that much bravery and passion and no doubt will treat you with respect for the rest of their lives." He said, grin widening. I was shocked by this. These people, even the vampires, think of me as brave? How had _that_ happened?! My surprised musings were cut short as Amilio continued. "I'm afraid I must ask of your leave now. I've much work to do putting together your training schedule. I'll send Atton when it's finished so you can begin at once." I nodded, knowing that this was something that he wouldn't accept conditions on, and followed Atton back out of Amilio's office.

"Why didn't you tell me everyone would act like that?" I demanded the moment the double doors had closed behind us.

"I didn't think it was such a big deal…I mean, it was understandable. You were incredibly brave, Wednesday. You stood up to Baine himself! How could they _not _admire you?" he grinned, somehow looking both apologetic and defiant. I sighed and shook my head, unable to stay frustrated with a smile like that.

"So what do you want for dinner?" Atton asked as we started back the way we'd come. I blinked, momentarily confused until I remembered that I'd told my parents I was coming over for dinner. Atton, apparently, had decided that this was indeed what I'd do. I didn't mind, of course. I'd always wondered what his dining room looked like and was excited to finally find out. Imagine my surprise when we ended up standing in front of a simple door that was covered in "Do Not Disturb" and "Knock First" signs. The moment I saw this I knew that Atton had led me to his room.

"I thought you'd want to relax and have some room service with me…" He mumbled by way of explanation. I smiled to hide my terror. I'd always imagined seeing the inside of his room but always passed it off as a silly fantasy. The room was huge and every wall but one was covered in giant posters of his favorite bands. I learned that day that we both loved most of the same music. Sitting at the base of the only poster-less wall was a twin sized bed with black pillows, sheets, and a deep red blanket. Next to it sat a shoulder high bookcase cluttered with dozens of CDs, manga, and sketch books. Only two other pieces of furniture sat in the room, though they by far took up the most space. A giant screen TV took up most of the south wall and a medium sized black couch perched a few feet in front of it. I fell in love with the room immediately.

Atton walked in and perched on the arm of the couch, motioning that I take a seat beside him. Mentally shaking myself, I walked across the room and sank into its amazingly soft cushions. As soon as I was comfortable, Atton took out a menu from the top of his bookcase and handed it to me. Half of it was written in a language that didn't even use the English alphabet, and the rest was a huge range of ridiculous things like caviar and escargot. At last, to my great delight, I found a section devoted to Chinese food and asked as humbly as I could for a bowl of Lo Mein with bourbon chicken heaped on top. When I'd had it for the first time, I was shocked that my parents were giving me food with alcohol in it but learned that the alcohol was cooked out when it was made. Atton grinned, announced that the Chinese section was his favorite, and pulled out his cell phone to make our order. After a brief talk, Atton hung up and turned on the TV.

"What do you wanna watch? I get gaming channels." Atton said, the remote poised in his hand. I smiled tentatively and nodded. I'd grown a little more relaxed but still didn't know what was ok. I hadn't been in a boy's room since I was seven and it didn't matter. I was at a loss as to how to act or what to say. Atton seemed to sense my unease and smiled his soft smile.

"Relax." He said, his voice gentle. "I'm not going to get any closer, and the food is going to be here soon. I just thought you'd be happier somewhere that wasn't so crowded." I smiled for real then, grateful to have a friend as considerate as he was. Not many boys would invite a girl to their rooms without once thinking about other things. I could tell that those thoughts hadn't even occurred to Atton, which made me happy, but it was also almost insulting. _Will I only ever be a friend to him? I'm glad his mind isn't always on one thing like other guys, but does he not even think I'm attractive?_ My self-esteem still hadn't recovered when the food arrived, and I used the distraction to hide the sad look on my face.

The food was amazing.

"I'll never be able to look at Lo Mein the same way again!" I exclaimed after my first few ravenous bites. Atton laughed and almost lost his mouthful of teriyaki. Teriyaki was a Japanese dish, but I wasn't about to point it out. Why would I want to ruin this moment by acting like a know-it-all? At last, as we laughed over our meals, I fully relaxed and began to enjoy myself. Atton and I stuffed our faces and watched episodes of X-Play, stealing bites from each other's plates and acting like dorks. It was the most fun I'd had in months.

Finally, my mother called my cell and told me it was time I came home. Only then did I realize that it was after eight at night. Sheepishly, I told her I'd be home in half an hour and we began picking up our mess. I'd never had better food or enjoyed myself more than I had these last few hours, and I shoved Atton, reluctant to lose the feeling of being five years old just yet. He fell onto the couch, laughing hysterically the whole way down, then stood up breathlessly to chase me around the room. I shrieked and giggled as I ran from his tickling fingers. _I wonder…is this the way a couple acts? _I dared not let myself hope. Instead, I finally called a stop to our game and, tired and grinning from ear to ear, said that I needed to go home. Atton, just as winded as I was, nodded and called his driver.

Another few minutes passed, and we were walking through the main entrance again. I wasn't caught off guard by the servant's, and even a few vampires that lingered on the edges of the crowd, reactions when they saw me, but it still frightened me a little. I didn't like the look of expectation in their eyes, like they were waiting to see what I was going to do next, and my childish mood was all but forgotten by the time we reached the giant doors leading outside.

The driver was waiting for us, of course. He smiled politely when he saw us approaching, and we quickly climbed into the back seat. Atton flicked my nose as we drove off and soon our childish games were back. We ended up arm wrestling to prove who was manliest. He let me win, and I knew that he did, but I didn't bring it up. Truth was, if he wanted to, Atton could break my arm with one hand. For the last five minutes of the drive, I gloated over my superiority while Atton mocked groveling at my feet. It was all good fun and gave me happy tingles in my toes and fingers. Only my true friends and those I had crushes on have ever been able to produce these. Atton was both of those things so they raged in my extremities at times like these.

"Miss." The driver caught my attention by lightly tapping my shoulder. "We've arrived at your home." I sent him a grateful look then opened the door and stepped out onto my drive. Atton followed and, always a gentleman, began walking me to my front door. Once there, we paused and looked at each other.

"Thanks for letting me come and talk to Amilio, and that Chinese was amazing! I have to come over for meals more often!" I said, aware that I was gushing. I couldn't help it. It hadn't been a date, but it had still been wonderful. I hoped that it wouldn't be the last time. Atton chuckled, his face hidden by the shadow of our awning. I shivered, aware of a strange note in his voice. _Did I do something wrong? Why does he sound nervous?_ To get a response, I said, "Well…goodbye for now…see you tomorrow at school! Thanks again for the awesome afternoon!" My attempt seemed to fail, however, as Atton merely shifted from foot to foot silently.

So fast I didn't realize what was happening until his lips pressed against mine, Atton leaned forward and kissed me softly. For a second all I could do was stand there frozen, but then I got my wits about me and managed to kiss him back for a moment before he broke the contact. Blinking rapidly, I stared at the dark outline that was his face.

"Goodnight!" His voice whispered, breathless and almost a squeak, then he turned and nearly ran back to the car. I stood on my front porch for a long while after the car had driven away, my thoughts a confused, jumbled mess. _I thought I was only a friend to him! The way he holds my hand…why did he kiss me? Why did he seem like he was terrified of my reaction?_ It had happened so suddenly. Had I been misreading Atton's actions? It certainly seemed that way. Maybe things were finally startin to look up! I grinned, warm inside with the knowledge that life was beginning to go back to normal and even seemed to be better than before. I would at last be able to enjoy my life as a teenager.

I would soon learn how wrong I was.

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**ok! After an update, replacement, and then another update, i am finally satisfied with the ending of this chapter! I hope u all are too! i'll begin working on ch. 21 ASAP!! love you all!! ~Noyz~**


	18. Chapter 21 Quieted Anxieties

**This chapter is much much shorter than the others because i wanted to give it to my characters. They've been through hell and deserve a good fluffy chapter before things pick up again! :) Next chap. will be much longer! hope you enjoy!!**

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Ch. 21

Monday morning began with the September sun shining brightly through my window. Blinking through the light, I stared at my alarm clock, wondering why it hadn't woken me up, to find that I'd done the impossible. I'd managed to wake up half an hour _before _the alarm went off, a feat that was proof enough of my anticipation of today's events. Memories detailing the cause of my anticipation swept into the forefront of my mind, making my cheeks redden.

Atton had kissed me. Atton had kissed _me_! He'd even sounded nervous in that cute way boys do when they're terrified the object of their affections might run away screaming from their lips! He'd kissed me once before, of course, but it hadn't meant anything. Even in my eyes it had been a moment between two that had been forced through hell and back again and were trying to make the best of things. This kiss had definitely been different. Though quick and soft, it seemed to have held lovely promises of more to come. I hoped with all my heart I was right and not over thinking things.

Too awake now to go back to sleep, I got up and quickly dressed. For the first time in years, I felt annoyed that I took my showers at night. It'd only taken five minutes to get fully dressed and ready. I tried to take my time in the bathroom, brushing every tangle away until my hair shown and almost looked like hair instead of a mess of red yarn. Even with my unruly hair, that only killed another ten minutes, and, frustrated, I did something I never thought I'd do. I started putting on make-up. It wasn't much. Even as desperate to burn time as I was, I could only force myself to roll on the black eyeliner and silver eye shadow mom had bought me for my fifteenth birthday.

Done with everything I could think of by way of getting ready, I walked slowly down the stairs and made a huge bowl of fruitypebbles. Finally, when I was halfway through and starting to feel full, I heard my alarm go off and, only a couple minutes later, my sister's door open and shut. I sighed, glad that it'd only be another twenty minutes before the bus got here. Another twenty minutes before I learned for sure whether my hopes would prove true or not. At that moment, I felt the first trickle of fear. _What if you're wrong? _The reasonable side of me whispered. It had grown quieter over the past few weeks as the bolder voice had grown louder, but was now back in full force, drawn by my mounting anxiety. _What if he was simply caught in the moment and will think you're crazy to assume? What if he rejects you?_ The questions focused around one inescapable truth I'd come to believe over my sixteen years of life. Guys like Atton almost never fall for girls like me.

"Wednesday?" Winifred's voice cut into my inner turmoil and I turned to look at her shocked expression. She was eyeing my sparse makeup and groomed hair with a mixture of fear and what seemed like excitement. I raised an eyebrow questioningly, not trusting my voice to hide the mixed emotions twirling around in my gut.

"You…you look good! But what's got you wearing make-up, hun?" She moved to sit beside me as she spoke, still staring first at my make-up, then at my hair. I felt like I'd just grown a third eye! The annoyance at her shock gave me the strength to reply calmly.

"I woke up early by some freak accident I don't understand and had no way to pass the time!" I huffed at her, a little insulted that even the sister that understood me the most would react like this. Then again, maybe it was _because_ she knew me the most that she did. After all, I've always been an all natural kind of girl. I'd worn make-up plenty of times and could even remember putting some on the first day of school, but had never put as much care into it as I had today.

My reply and obvious aggravation made her giggle and relax. She could tell there was more to it, but was kind enough to leave it at that. Being in her always soothing presence gave me a bit of my strength back, and it was easy to sit still and chat with her until the bus arrived. Emmalea didn't say anything when she saw me, but didn't hide her surprise either. I ignored her, forcing myself to hold my head high against her curious stare as we walked quickly down the driveway to the already honking bus driver.

I gulped when I reached the stairs and almost couldn't lift my foot to get on, but then the driver honked again, startling me, and I found myself practically running up the steps to avoid being shut in the closing door. Atton was there, of course, sitting in his usual spot near the back of the bus. I sometimes wondered why he took it when he had his own driver, but knew that he'd hate the attention that'd be added to his already overcrowded life if he suddenly showed up in a fancy car. I gulped, hesitated only a moment, then walked down the lane to his seat and slid in beside him.

He didn't look at me for a long moment, his face and eyes turned away. I shivered even though it hadn't begun to get cold yet. Did I mention Shadyview is close to the equator? Summer is unusually long here, just the way I like it.

"About last night…" He began, voice heavy. My heart plummeted, and I looked at my hands. They were clasped tightly so he wouldn't see them shaking. He didn't continue. Utterly depressed at the rejection I knew was coming, I glanced up through my eyelashes and blinked in shock at what I saw. Atton was staring at me, eyes wide and mouth open in what could only be described as a "Duh…" expression.

"Wednesday, you…you're…" He couldn't seem to get his words to come out, and I looked at my reflection in the window. I hadn't been paying attention to what I looked like as I'd gotten ready this morning and, now that I could truly see myself, still didn't understand their reactions. The only differences were healthy looking hair and eyeliner.

Atton cleared his throat, seeming to come back to his senses and distracting me from the window, bringing my attention back to him. At once, my depression returned, and I waited to hear what he had to say.

"Wednesday, I…I'm sorry about what I did…I know you don't see me that way…" He said, his voice deeply sad and anxious, as if waiting for some kind of punishment. It was my turn now to stare openmouthed. _He's sorry? Don't see him that way?_ I bones started to feel like jelly as the truth dawned on me slowly. _He liked me all along! He held back because he didn't think I cared! _Without my consent, an elated giggle escaped my lips, and I found myself pulling him close so I could rest my suddenly weary head on his shoulder.

"You idiot…" I whispered, unable to bring my voice any louder. My heart was on fire, happier than it had ever been before, and I could finally put a name to the emotion that had tugged at my heart for so long. Love. It wasn't full blown yet, but I knew what it was know, and it was easy to see it growing. It was easy to picture a life with this boy. Even eternity.

"You're so stupid…I always liked you…from the very beginning…" My lips formed a grin as the words I'd longed to say spilled from them. Atton's warm hand lifted my face, and he looked deep into my eyes and pressed his forehead to mine as he'd done only once before. My heart flipped behind its boney cage at the sight of the pure joy dancing behind his beautiful grey eyes. His eyes had become beautiful again the day of our first kiss, but that day was nothing compared to this one. Today wasn't a day for a kiss between friends. It was a day for confessions and happiness.

Neither of us knew what was to come. If we had, maybe things would have turned out differently.

Maybe we could have saved her.

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**Thanks so much for reading and please! pleeeaassee review!! give me ur opinions!! again, i apologize for the incredible shortness of this chapter but i just couldn't ruin the happy mood i set for those two! after all they've gone through, they needed a good violence, kidnapping, and vampire free chappy! XD l8er for now! ~Noyz~ (p.s.- im gonna start signing "Noyz" cuz ppl keep callin me sakuya in messeges, which isn't wrong, but i prefer to go by my alias.)**


	19. Chapter 22 The giving and taking of life

Ch. 22

The rest of the ride to school was spent discussing Jamie. Not the best subject but one that was necessary because the nasty girl was still convinced that Atton was hers. I haven't mentioned her for a while, but, in truth, the Barbie has been harassing me since the day she told me to back off of Atton. Her words meant nothing to me, but since I'd gotten back and returned to school the previous Thursday, her efforts had increased. Friday I'd found a hate letter stuffed inside my History book and, not three hours later, someone spray painted "whore" on the inside of my locker door. Atton, gentleman that he was, offered on numerous occasions to talk to her, but I knew that if he did she'd take it as more proof that I was trying to take him from her.

By the time the bus had pulled to a stop beside the school, we'd agreed for the sake of the Brick's relationship with Jamie's family that we couldn't let anyone know we were together. _We're together!_ The phrase was still shockingly new to me and made me grin every time I thought it. Atton had been pleasantly surprised to know that I'd liked him for as long as he'd liked me and cursed himself for not seeing it sooner. Not wanting to pretend we were friends yet, I waited until everyone had left the bus and stole a quite hug from him. Atton laughed, hugged me back warmly, and hurried me off the bus before the driver became angry.

First period passed in a blur of furtive peaks at my new boyfriend, frustration and resignation that I'd never be able to hold his hand in public, and fear that Jamie would see through me and find out what had passed between us. I had little to fear for today at least, because Jamie wasn't at school. It was a rare occurrence, and I took it as a good omen for things to come. Atton, on the other hand, seemed worried.

"She's never gone unless she's forced to do something for the family, and that's never a good thing." He muttered to me while I was pulling my much hated biology book out of my locker. I shrugged, not knowing what to say. Atton hated Jamie almost as much as I did, but he also had his family to think about. I, however, could feel nothing but relief knowing she was gone for the day. Who wouldn't enjoy a harassment-free day beside the person they care about most?

When lunch came around, Atton risked coming outside to eat with me on my favorite bench. We ate in companionable silence for a while before I had the courage to lean against his shoulder. Atton smiled, and ruffled my hair gently. The light touch alone was enough to set my heart into overdrive. I'd have left it at that, but Atton, much to my shock, reached over, lifted my face to his, and pressed his lips tenderly to mine. All at once, nothing existed but the softness of his lips, his hand caressing my face. I sighed, floating in a little bubble of happiness, and felt his lips open slightly in response.

That was when the first scream rang out.

The sound shocked us from the blissful world we'd fallen into. Atton was on his feet only seconds later and pulling me with him, and my joy was replaced with confused fear. What was going on? I let him tow me along without resisting, trusting that he knew what he was doing. A moment later, and we were back inside the lunch room. I blinked, slow to understand why everyone was running for the exits. Then I saw the group of tall men and women in the middle of the large room and instantly understood.

The Unclean weren't hiding anymore.

"There they are!" I'd only heard the woman's voice once, but there was no mistaking the malice hidden behind the words. The exclamation came from our left, and I found myself looking for its source. I didn't have to look far. Elaine, the woman that had slapped Atton not so long ago, was standing in front of one of the exits menacingly pointing a gun at anyone that dared try and go around her. The terrified students had no choice but to run for the only other exit, which was guarded by two very muscular men. They were unarmed, but I knew by their skin and eyes that that only meant they didn't have a gun. It didn't make them any less deadly.

"Catch them alive!" The tallest of the group in the center of the room ordered. Muscled and square-jawed, he would have been handsome were it not for the huge scar that ran from his mouth and right eye all the way down his neck to disappear underneath his shirt collar. It forced his mouth down and slightly open into a grotesque snarl that sent shivers of icy panic down my spine. The look of cruel enjoyment on his face was the final proof. This was a man that would kill anyone that stood in his way, be it a vampire or human.

"Run!" Atton cried, dragging me back through the double doors. His voice cut through the chains my horror had placed on my limbs and splashed over my mind like calming water. I ran with him as quickly as I could, but we'd only gone twenty feet when a cool hand closed around me elbow. I screamed, yanking with all my strength, only to find it was Sakuya. The relief I felt when I realized she was one of our guards was so great, I almost wept, but forced myself to think about only two things. Keeping Atton safe and getting out alive. In that order.

"This way! We have found a safe route to take back to the Manor!" Sakuya ordered, guiding us towards the woods to our left. For no reason I could understand, I noted that it was the same way I took the day Barylle had taken me to the council. Shoving the random thought away, I kept going, hoping with all my heart that once we were gone the Unclean would lose interest in the other students and follow us instead. As the prayer passed through my mind, a loud thump then pained cry cut into my senses. I whirled around, terrified at what I'd see.

Sakuya was on the ground clutching at her chest. At first I was confused, but then I heard a delighted giggle and saw the silver liquid seeping through her fingers. The giggle had come from Elaine. Sakuya had been shot. The Unclean had actually found a bullet that could hurt a vampire! For a long moment, I could only stare in shock and despair, but then something snapped inside of me. As the sight of Sakuya's rapidly paling face burned into my eyes, a wall came down in my heart, and all I could think was that I'd had enough. Enough of the Unclean and their sick cruelty. My fear gone, I started walking slowly towards the despicable woman that took pleasure in hurting people. Something in my face seemed to worry her a bit, and she hesitated, the smile slipping from her lips. I took her hesitation to my advantage and with one long stride, put my face right in hers and closed my hand around her throat.

Now, as you all know, this is almost never a good thing to do when the choker is a human and the choked a vampire, but I knew this would be different. For the first time, I could _feel_ my power as it ran through my fingertips and into the woman I hated most in the world at that moment. It was like electricity that started as a warm ball in my heart and spread through my whole body, sending the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck on edge. It was a strange, enlightening feeling.

It took only a moment for Elaine's throat to begin turning into ash. Wide-eyed and mouth gaping like a fish, she stumbled away from me and clutched mutely at her rapidly deteriorating flesh, dropping her gun in the process. I turned away, unable to watch now that the power, along with my fury, had disappeared again.

"Wednesday…" Atton's voice caught my attention. It was laced with worry and something I couldn't name, but when I turned to look at him I saw it was fear. Fear of _me_. The reality of what I'd just done hit me full force in that moment. I'd murdered someone. I had just willingly taken a life. Suddenly, my legs couldn't hold me, and I sank to the ground beside Atton. Sakuya seemed worse than only a moment ago, and her silver blood had formed a small puddle on the ground. By now I'd realized that a battle was going on not thirty feet away between our bodyguards and the Unclean, but that didn't matter to me in that moment. What mattered was that Sakuya was going to die if I didn't do something to save her.

As if the wish had woken something else in my mind, a deeper, still unrealized power, burst into existence. It filled me to the core, and I knew what I had to do. Lifting the same hand I'd used to kill Elaine, I started to place it on Sakuya's wound, but Atton grabbed my arm, stopping me.

"Stop! She's not going to die!" He cried, panic clear in his voice. With a small jolt, I realized that he, and Sakuya, too, by the look of terror she was giving me, thought I'd been about to put her out of her misery. I shook my head, and gently pried my arm from his grip. Very slowly, I placed both of my hands on either side of Atton's face and pressed my lips against his for one small moment, then whispered in his ear, "Trust me."

With a curt nod, he told me he did, and, still coursing with my newfound power, I again lifted my hand to Sakuya's wound. The feeling as the power moved into her was very different than before with Elaine. Instead of stealing the life away from her, I seemed to be giving Sakuya a bit of my own. It took the better part of ten minutes for the bullet hole, which began at her back and ended where the bullet had burst through her stomach directly below her diaphragm, was fully healed. When at last the bleeding had stopped and her skin was fully intact again, I collapsed against Atton's side, eyelids heavy with exhaustion. The power left as soon as the healing was done, leaving me empty and very, very tired.

"You did well, love…I think she's going to be ok now…" Atton whispered, the wonder in his voice poorly concealed, and wrapped his arms around me, letting my head rest in the curve of his shoulder. Smiling softly, I let myself drift into the inviting darkness of sleep, knowing it wasn't safe to do so but unable to fight my fatigue. When I came too, I was being carried through the woods in Atton's arms. Not wanting to be put down yet, I peeked through slit eyelids at our surroundings. Sakuya was there, looking much better than the bloody mess she was before, walking beside him. I was relieved to see she was alive and well, that I'd been able to heal her in time.

That brought up the subject of my newest power. It made me happy that with my power of destruction came one of regeneration. I wondered off handedly what Amilio would think of this news. He'd probably be interested but, with Serena and the other healers, not overly awed. For some reason I found that funny, and had to fight really hard to keep my face expressionless and relaxed as Atton carried me. I realized then that they were talking about me, and paid more attention to the conversation.

"So amazing!" Atton was saying. "The look on her face when she took out that Unclean gave me chills! I'll admit it scared me a little…it was like she didn't care what she'd done…but then when she seemed to realize…I knew she hadn't been thinking much of anything, just acting, you know?"

"Yes…" Sakuya replied, voice thoughtful. "I didn't know she could heal, too…is that a new power? Amilio hasn't said anything about it."

"Yea…today was the first time I'd seen it…I think it was the first time for Wednesday, too…I don't like how taxing it was for her though…don't get me wrong, I'm glad she did it! I just wish it hadn't been at such a great cost to her. It was like she gave you part of her soul."

"It felt like it, too…for a moment, I almost believed I could feel her thoughts…her determination to not let me die…I was afraid to move for fear I'd break her concentration and stop the healing…I was so close to losing myself…"

There was a silence then that lasted long enough for me to decide it was time to "wake up". Stifling a real yawn that hit at that moment, I slowly opened my eyes and smiled up at Atton. He saw immediately. "Good morning, beautiful…" he whispered before putting me on my feet, letting me hold onto his arm until I had my balance, then his hand when we continued walking.

"You slept like the dead." Sakuya stated happily, making me giggle. I was happy to see her humor hadn't been injured either. I immediately asked her how her stomach felt and she reported that she felt fine now, if just a bit uncomfortable in her still blood-stained shirt. I grinned from ear to ear, unable to contain my excitement at knowing I'd saved her life.

"How far have we come?" I asked curiously after a few moments of mutual silence.

"We aren't far now. Another twenty minutes and we should be at the house." Atton answered, giving my hand a slight squeeze. I leaned against him in response, simply enjoying his presence. Sakuya was quiet for a long time, letting us have each other's company, but after another fifteen minutes spoke up.

"Thank you, Wednesday…for saving me…" She whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear her. I smiled and bumped her shoulder with mine.

"None of that! I couldn't let you die! What would I do if there wasn't at least _one_ Pureblood with a sense of humor?" I joked, earning a grin.

"So why didn't any enforcements show up? Why was it only our bodyguards that fought?" Atton asked into the silence. Sakuya's pace slowed as a curious look crossed her features.

"No one showed up? We reported that a large group of Unclean was on their way almost three minutes before they arrived!" Sakuya exclaimed mildly, obviously surprised at this news. This troubled me. Atton and I were invaluable to Amilio. There was no way he'd fail to send back up.

"Not unless he was already busy with his own battle…" The thought escaped my lips without my permission, and I saw the other two's eyes get huge at what it implied. Atton gasped and grabbed my arm to pull me back the way we'd come, but at that moment, the world exploded with hands and the brown eyes of the Unclean.

Something was forced over my eyes and mouth, and my head became foggy almost instantly. _Some kind of sedative._ My mind thought sluggishly as darkness began to claim me. The last thing I saw before the drug's effect tore me away from consciousness was Atton and Sakuya struggling vainly against the overwhelming number of people surrounding us.

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**Alright! This one is much longer than 21 and back on track! I hope you enjoy! What's with the Unclean and always ambushing people? Eh, safety in numbers i guess! is it sad that the author isn't even sure? XD! anyhoo!! as always, reviews would be lovely! I want your opinions, be them bad or good! Never be afraid to tell me i suck if you honestly think so! :) l8er!! ~Noyz~**


	20. Chapter 23 The Interrogation

CH. 23

My first thought after waking up was how strange it was that I was such a magnet for getting kidnapped, first by the Purebloods and now twice by the Unclean. The answer was simple, of course. I was an object of power for them. Whoever "owned" my allegiance my unusual powers as well.

As I lay there bound and blindfolded, I thought about how my life had changed since my family and I had moved to Shadyview. It seemed as if the only good thing that had happened to me in all this time had been meeting Atton. Even the Purebloods thought of me as a pawn in their game to gain control. Still, I knew theirs was the right side to take, even if it meant being kidnapped every other day. I would just have to do my best and try not to screw up.

"On your feet!" A man's voice suddenly ordered from somewhere above me. Before I could even think to move, the hard end of his steel toed boot connected painfully with my abdomen. Knocked from my inner thoughts, I coughed raggedly and struggled to sit up without the use of my hands. Pain flared across my left side, letting me know I'd soon have an ugly bruise. From the way the floor creaked when I moved, I guessed I was inside a building with hardwood floors. I didn't have longer than a moment to ponder this, however, because the man grabbed my arm the moment I was sitting up and yanked me to my feet, almost pulling my arm out of socket in the process. I gasped, my eyes watering under my blindfold, earning myself a sharp slap across the face and a harsh "Quiet!" from my jailer as he tugged me through a door and into a warmer, brighter room. I could only tell it was lighter because my nose pushed the blindfold out far enough to allow a thin line of light to sneak under the fabric. Unfortunately, it wasn't wide enough to even see my feet as we continued walking.

"You will speak only when you are spoken to and you _will_ answer truthfully." My chaperone spat into my ear. Obviously, I was about to be interrogated. I would have to be very careful. If I made a single mistake or they saw through even one lie, a feeling in my gut told me I would die a slow and very painful death. Of course, that would be only after they'd forced me to tell them what I knew about the Purebloods or worse, make me kill them. I shivered at the thought, glad the blindfold hid my expression from anyone who might be watching my face.

We walked down a long hall and through another door before I was shoved backwards onto a hard chair. After untying my hands and retying them firmly to the chair's arms, my blindfold was removed. Blinking rapidly into the sudden bright light, I pulled vainly at my restraints and cast my gaze quick around me, trying to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. The man who'd so kindly escorted me was standing to my right with a dark sneer on his ugly features. Slightly surprised, I stared at the first vampire I'd met who wasn't unnaturally beautiful. His eyes, the brown of the Unclean, were beady and set too wide apart on his square face. His nose, with a beaklike ark not unlike a certain professor's, was so large it cast a shadow over his thin lips. Over all, he reminded me strongly of a great, muscular rat. _Focus Wednesday! _I chided myself. _You're tied to a chair for Pete's sake! Get your bearings! _Obediently, I pulled my eyes away and continued looking in every direction I could with my limited mobility.

I was in some sort of library. Bookshelves lined two of the four walls, and I could see a thick layer of dust over the books closest to me, indicating no one had read any of them for quite some time. The third wall, the one I was sitting nearest to, was dominated by a huge, ornately carved fireplace. The kind you saw in old movies whenever the young gentleman was invited for tea in the lady's mansion. Sitting directly opposite, in a much more comfortable chair and unbound, was Jamie. I ogled at her, taking in her shiny silk gown and stylish up-do. She stared back, a smug look on her haughty features.

"You betrayed us?" The question burst from my lips into the tense silence, making Barbie's lips turn up in a mocking smile. Yes, her eyes told me, she had.

"Why?" I whispered, trying hard not to let my voice shake from the anger I was only barely holding in check. What had they offered that was more important to her than Atton? She was quiet for a long moment, obviously relishing her moment of victory.

"Because I was tired of being on the losing side." She finally answered. "Maybe after this you'll understand. The reign of the Purebloods is coming to an end, Wednesday. I plan to still be around when it does."

By the time she'd finished I wanted to claw her eyes out so badly I was surprised at myself. Unwilling to let her see how she effected me, I forced myself to stop digging my nails into the armrests and sat back, determined to speak with as little emotion as possible.

"You're the one on the losing side, Barbie." It took some effort not to smile at the look on her face when she heard what I'd dubbed her so long ago. "We will win, and once we do, I'll make sure you regret even setting eyes on me." My voice, as I'd hoped, was dead calm, and I never once unlocked my gaze from hers. In the back of my mind I realized that that was the first time I'd counted myself among the Purebloods and meant it, but I filed that away for later contemplation.

Jamie frowned and shifted wordlessly in her seat, signaling that my voice and words had unnerved her. It only showed in her eyes for a moment before it was replaced by fury. After all, I'd dared to threaten her. Baring her teeth, she stood and slapped my face in one fluid motion. Now both cheeks would be sore, but I took the blow without flinching, knowing my lack of a response would only get further under her skin. I was right. With a cry of hatred, she lifted his hand a second time, her fingers clinched into a fist, but just before it was about to come down the door behind me opened and Baine's cold voice broke through our battle.

"Ah, I see she's awake. That'll do, darling. I will inflict any further pain myself if the need arises." His tone left no room for discussion. Barbie had been dismissed. Gulping softly, she turned and hurried to leave, her face pink with the embarrassment of a child who'd just gotten caught coloring on the walls. Only my ugly friend stayed, obviously serving as my guard. Baine sat down in front of me, his face empty of the false civility it had held the last time we'd spoken. I shifted nervously, scared of what was to come. How could I ever lie to this man and get away with it?

"How are you feeling?" He asked suddenly, his face unreadable. It was an easy enough question to answer. I decided that telling the truth when I could and half-truths when I couldn't were my best bet at getting out alive without endangering the Purebloods.

"Not too amazing, I have to admit." I managed to half smile as I replied, letting him know I was trying to make the best of the very serious situation I was in. His answering smile was brief and very obviously only to humor me.

"Do you know why I've taken you, Wednesday?" He asked, his eyes boring into my own. I nodded, working with all my strength not to succumb to his gaze, knowing that all would be lost if I did.

"You want to use me against the Purebloods." I answered simply. My voice almost shook as I spoke but I held it steady just in time. I would not let him have the satisfaction o knowing I was frightened. He smiled for real at this, a slow, thin-lipped snarl that sent a shiver creeping up my spine. It was like a cruel joke was playing out in his head and I was the butt of it. I shifted in my seat, suddenly cold in the warm room. There wasn't any other reason to keep me, was there?

"The Purebloods are merely a stepping stone, my dear," He began, his grin widening into a full on baring of his teeth, "and you are the key to everything. You have made all my centuries of waiting and careful planning worth it. Tom!" The last word was an order directed at the man still standing silently to my right. At the sound of his name, Tom scrambled forward and bowed to his master.

"Take the girl to the dining room with the other two and make sure she is fed well. I will interrogate her when she has her strength." Without another word, Baine turned and left out the door he'd come in from. I blinked a couple times, confused as to what this had been if he'd never intended to interrogate me. Understanding came to me when Tom bumped the side of my face while untying me from the chair, the painful sting reminding me of Barbie's slap. Baine hadn't called for me. She had. She'd had brought to this room just so that she could gloat on her success in capturing me. With a shocked gasp, I suddenly remembered what my pain and confusion had caused me to forget. I hadn't been the only one taken. _Atton! Where's Atton? The others! Is Amilio even still alive?_ The questions rushed through my mind in a jumbled mess as I was lead through a pair of double doors and into a huge dining room, complete with an oversized table and chandelier.

The table wasn't empty. At the far end sat Atton and Sakuya, both bound tightly to chairs. I couldn't understand why Sakuya didn't simply rip through the rope until we grew closer and I saw that her restraints were glittering and shifting as if they were made of shadows. What I'd assumed were ropes ten feet away were really cords of magic that moved with a life of their own, giving her the ability to breathe but not much else. Atton, I was glad to see, was held fast by the same kind of ropes I was tied with and seemed to be in the same condition he was in the last time I'd seen him. Despite everything, my heart still managed to beat faster when I saw the same relief and joy I was feeling reflected in his expression. Evidently, he'd been worried about me as well.

"I have a question." Sakuya said, startling me with the sudden sound of her quiet voice. "How are we supposed to eat if we're unable to move?" I blinked and glanced at Tom to see if this had even occurred to him. It had, apparently, because he simply snarled at her and motioned with the hand that wasn't finishing the last tie on my left arm for some unseen person to come out. A moment later, two human women walked between us and placed a large steaming plate of food on the table. I'd only just guessed what they were going to do next when the first bite of piping hot mashed potatoes was put in my mouth. I gagged, naturally, and could hear similar sounds from Atton's chair beside me. While the women waited for us to get our breath back, a third came out holding a very large goblet of red, viscous liquid. I knew immediately that it was blood meant for Sakuya. At first, I tried hard to ignore the slurping sounds but in the end gave up and focused on not letting the crazy woman feeding me burn my mouth off.

After a few minutes the woman, whom I learned was the head servant, and I had finally worked out a system. She would pick up a forkful of food, and I would blow on it until it wasn't so painfully hot before taking the bite myself. I didn't want to be fed, and she didn't want to feed me, so this worked out best for us both. Atton, unfortunately, wasn't getting anywhere with his feeder. She ignored what he said completely and only focused on getting the food down his throat. _She_, on the other hand, was _very_ lucky. If I hadn't been tied down as thoroughly as I was, she may not have lived through the first course. As it was, I could only glare at her banefully and grit my teeth against the insults I knew would only make Atton's situation worse.

Once our meal was finished and the horrible red stain around Sakuya's lips was wiped away, we were pulled through three separate doors. Fear for what was in store for them mingled with fear for my own life. What did I know that could help Baine hurt the purebloods? I knew in my heart that I could tell Baine nothing that would further his campaign, but my frantic nerves told me otherwise. I shuttered, praying that I would survive the next hour. What was I against a leader of a vampire coven? I couldn't even use my power against him because my hands were constantly bound behind my back or to the arms of a chair! Still, I would die before I betrayed the Purebloods, if only because I refused to be the cause of so many deaths.

I wasn't blindfolded this time as we walked back to the library. The hallways we walked through were beautiful but very old and dusty as if no one had lived there for many years. It gave me the feeling that we weren't at the Unclean's true home. They must have picked this old mansion out just for our interrogation and imprisonment.

Baine was waiting for us by the now roaring fire when we got there, his eyes watching me with anticipation so powerful and cruel it sent a chill up my spine. He had never looked less human or more like a cold-blooded killer than in that moment. I was so frightened by his fierce appearance that I didn't even realize I'd stopped breathing until Tom shoved me from behind and I had to exhale or cry out with the pain of his nail piercing my shoulder. With a warning glare aimed at Tom, Baine signaled with a graceful sweep of his hand for me to sit in the same seat I'd occupied before. I did so, relieved when no one tied my arms to the chair. It was back enough that I couldn't use them. At least this way I had a tiny chance of escape.

"Feel a little better, dear?" His voice was gentle, but it held a note of impatience. He wanted to begin. _Better to get it over with._ My instincts spoke softly, giving me the boost needed to make my lips form words again.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather just get started. There's no point in trying to be nice to me when you have that expression on your face." My voice, though I'd meant it to come out cold and mocking, traitorously trickled from my mouth in a shaky whisper. Baine smiled, obviously delighted to be able to skip the formalities and get down to the true business at hand. Torturing whatever knowledge he thought I had locked away in my brain out into the open.

"If that's what you'd like, child." He crowned in what was supposed to be a soothing voice. "We'll start things out simply. How many times have you met and spoken with Amilio?" Despite his honey-coated tone, Amilio's name still came out as if Baine were uttering a distasteful word.

"I seen him three times and spoken with him twice." My voice, though louder this time, was dry and dead. I'd already decided to stick to the plan of telling what I could and lying about the rest. Baine stared into my eyes for a long moment before nodding slightly.

"Good. What did you speak about?" This time, he held my eyes with his. This, apparently, was what he wanted to know.

"The first time we spoke, we spoke about you, though I didn't know it was you at the time. It was the day after I saw you in the woods and they were trying to decide if I should be killed or not. Amilio, like you, could feel my power and gave me a choice. Become an inductee or die. Naturally, I chose the first. After that I was sent home. The second time we spoke was after we'd escaped your first ambush. I told him what happened and formally swore my fealty to Amilio and the Pureblood's cause. After that he talked about training sessions. We never got around to that before I ended up here." Throughout my little speech, I worked hard to breathe normally and look him dead in the eyes. What I told him was the truth, if only the barest details of it.

"And the third time you saw him?" Baine pressed, his expression unreadable. I knew he could see the truth of my words and that he didn't like the idea that I had nothing else at all.

"He was fighting you." I replied shortly. I barely had time to blink before Baine's hand was wrapped too tightly around my throat. I struggled vainly as I was lifted from my chair by the neck and held three feet off the ground. Spots dotted my vision as I fought the effects lack of oxygen caused and tried to focus on the words Baine was flinging at me.

"Amilio could not have left you so in the dark, girl! Tell me what you know!" With this, I was shaken angrily and thrown into a bookshelf on the other side of the room as if I weighed nothing. Coughing raggedly, I had to take a precious moment to gulp down much needed air and pull myself out from under the books that had fallen heavily on top of me before I could speak.

"I know nothing else!" I wheezed around the fire in my throat. "He would have been a fool to entrust important information to a weak human girl like me!" This time I expected the attack and managed to brace myself before his fist slammed into my stomach, but such a futile attempt to lessen the pain was useless against the strength of a vampire. The force of the hit threw me back against the bookshelf, where I crumpled into a heap of pain. I only had time to gasp before he yanked my head up by the hair so that he could look at my face. By then I was far past the point of being able to focus on more than one thing at once, so when he forced me to look him in the eyes I felt as if I was drowning in brown. The color flooded my thoughts, froze my limbs, until I felt I would suffocate if I didn't look away.

"Now." His voice snaked into my ears, so full of power it almost pushed me into unconsciousness. "Tell. Me. What. You. KNOW!" A wave of excruciating pain crashed into me as Baine threw all power into the last word. I only had the strength to utter a single phrase before darkness overtook me.

"I know nothing."

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**Hey guys! im sooooo sorry it took so long to finish this! i dont even hav an excuse...forgiv me? this was a fairly hard chapter to write cuz i hate hurting my characters...but i was mostly just lazy...i pray u enjoyed it and that u pleeeaassee review! :) again im soo sorry! **


	21. Chapter 24 A Chance of Escape

Ch. 24

Unconsciousness only held me for a few moments, but it was long enough for Baine to decide he was done for now and order Tom to take me back to my cell. I watched blankly as Baine left a bowing Tom to do as he was told. The agony throbbing in my body was so immense it seemed as if it and my mind were two separate beings. Anything I focused on moved with a creeping pace, as if my mind were working through a fog as it deciphered what it was seeing.

Tom was beside me now, I realized. I'd taken so long trying to take in the situation that I'd missed his movement altogether. Fresh pain surfaced as he tried to drag me to my feet, but it barely registered through the already overwhelming tide. I think I tried to help him, but what control over myself I had left was being put into simply remaining awake and coherent. He seemed to pick up on this after his second failed attempt to get me standing and, with a frustrated grimace, threw me over his shoulder and carried me out of the room.

Staying conscious took such an effort of will as I was jostled and bumped around by his stride that I forgot entirely to wonder where he might be taking me. It was only after we'd arrived and I was laying haphazardly across a hard bed (I didn't have the strength to straighten from the position he'd dumped me in) that I realized I wasn't in the room I'd woken in before. Slowly, always so slowly, I took in what little of the new prison I could see. The walls, once a peachy color, had long ago faded to an ugly off-white, and the ceiling was covered in cobwebs. The floor was hardwood, as the first had been, and was covered in the same layer of dust everything else was. I could plainly see Tom's footsteps both leading to and away from the edge of the bed.

"Why…new room?" I managed to whisper quite a while later. I still hadn't moved, but I'd been there long enough for my shadow to become visible on the floor beside me. I'd watched it grow, unable to help imagining it as a demon slowly widening its mouth to devour me and equally unable to care.

"Baine wants you to think he cares about your well-being." Tom answered from somewhere to my right. _No…_ My snail-paced mind corrected me. _That's not him._ The memory of his gruff voice ordering me to stand trickled into my head. This voice sounded smoother, less fierce. He, I'd decided it was a boy, continued, "Unfortunately, he's not the kind of man who can do that convincingly. Just look what he's done to you! How could that possibly be him "caring" about your well-being?" The boy's feet came into view. He was wearing worn out grey and white checkered Converse. He sounded angry, almost appalled, but there was no way to know if it was at what had been done to me or at Baine's lack of acting skills.

Over the hour or so I'd been lying still, the monster forged from the depths of my pain had gone to sleep. It was still very much there, but I could ignore it. Since I could only see his shoes, I didn't know until the beast woke and bit deep into my many injuries that I understood he was rolling me over. The beast let out a high-pitched wail as I moved, a sound so loud it frightened me. Almost as soon as it began a hand clamped hard over my mouth, silencing it almost completely. It was then that I knew the sound had been coming from me. Furious with myself for not being able to control the thing with a firmer hand, I shut up and kicked at it with my mind, trying with all I had to hold it at bay. It wasn't until the boy had finished and I was still again, however, that I could finally focus once more.

Now my view was taken up almost entirely by his face. He was handsome, as handsome as Atton, but in a fiercer way. Atton's face, jaw smooth and eyes half-hidden under his black hair, was mysterious. It was the kind of face you kept looking at without meaning to, as if your mind where trying to decide what to make of what it was seeing. This boy's, he couldn't be any older than myself, was more angular and his hair was cut just short enough that his eyes went untouched by its dirty blonde locks. The sharp angles of his jaw and the two scars on his face, one on his eyebrow and another cutting a crease into his lower lip, gave him the look of a warrior lost in time. His eyes, though they were as brown as every Unclean I'd met, held none of the power a vampire's did. He was human.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. His eyes, the only soft feature he owned, were burning with sincerity. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry Baine hurt you. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to stop it." With every sorry his eyes glimmered brighter. _At least he means it…_ I thought to myself. I knew I should feel happy that at least one of the Unclean's number, even if it was only one of their Unclean-to-be, was sorry, but I was past caring. All I wanted was the monster that was my agony to die and for things to be as they were before I'd walked into those woods. Suddenly, I realized that he hadn't been finished and managed to catch the end of his sentence.

"…lessen the pain."

"What?" I forced lips to ask. If there was a chance to escape the beast that held my body ransom, I didn't want to miss it.

"I said, I know who can lessen the pain. She wouldn't be able make it go away completely, but she could heal the inner damage that's causing the worst of it. I…it's not much, but it's all I can do…" Again with that burning sincerity. Whoever this was, he certainly hated what Baine had done, but did he hate what Baine planned to do? Did he even know? From what Baine had hinted at before, it wasn't only the death of the Purebloods he was after. He had something even more unthinkable in mind, something I didn't dare contemplate.

"Why not…all?" My voice came out in a rasp, but louder. I was getting better control.

"Why can't she heal you completely?"

"Mmn…" Why make the effort to form words when a sound would suffice?

"If Baine saw that all your bruises were miraculously gone, he'd know someone had healed you. I want to help, but if he found out you'd only suffer more than you already are." All this time, he'd been leaning over me to properly look me in the eye. As he finished, he finally straightened and walked out of my field of vision. "Her name is Maria, by the way." He added as if it had just occurred to him that he'd been referring to the woman as "she" and "her" this whole time. I listened to his footsteps as he walked away from me, then the door open and shut. Whether I wanted to be or not, I was alone.

Some time later, I was jolted awake by the returning sound of footsteps and the murmur of voices. Heart pounding, I realized that I'd fallen asleep without meaning to and that someone was about to enter my room. _Please…please let it be Maria and that boy…please…_ I begged silently, squeezing my eyes shut. My door opened, and the voices stopped speaking. For a long moment nothing happened. Then-

"Hello? Are you awake?" It was the boy. A relief so strong I could almost taste it rushed through me, and I opened my eyes. They weren't close enough for me to see them, but I pulled at the muscles in my face until a tiny smile played on my lips. I wanted them to see that I was glad they'd come. A few steps took the two, one human and the other obviously a vampire, into my sight. Maria was a small woman, but terrifying nonetheless. Heavy muscles covered her bare arms and were easy to see through her thin shirt. Her body and stature only served to make the kindness in her eyes stand out all the more. I liked her instantly. I'd always been fond of the kind of woman who could hold her own in a room of men but still manage not to be arrogant.

"My dear! What terrible damage he's done to you!" Her voice, infused with a mother's loving care, fit around the endearment so well that it calmed me rather than making my insides seize the way they did when Baine used it. Without another word, she set to work, humming a soothing tune as she did. Her surprisingly gentle hands worked the pain away so quickly I could barely stop myself from laughing out loud at the loss of it. The healing only took ten or fifteen minutes, but I wanted the blessed feeling to last forever.

"There! How are you feeling dear? Can you move? Oh, I wish I could fix your face up a bit! You look so dreadful!" Maria fretted and tutted until I was propped up comfortably against a pillow. My muscles, having not been used in so long, creaked and protested the whole way, but I didn't care. I could move! It took me a moment to find my voice, but when I did it poured out of me as if it had been locked away and was now bursting out all at once. I suppose it had been.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! Don't worry about my face! I can't describe how much pain there was! Compared to that I feel amazing! You're even better than Selena! She was-" I froze, eyes wide with the realization of what I had nearly said. _She was the one who healed me after the surgery. _It wasn't something that would hurt anyone, but I'd promised myself I wouldn't give any information, no matter how small, if I didn't need to.

"That's ok, sweetheart!" Maria quickly soothed, "You don't have to tell us anything you think we shouldn't know!" She smiled softly, and I could see the open honesty on her face. I was in shock. Since the day I'd been brought into this, I'd been lead to believe that all Unclean were evil, cold-hearted murders, and I'd met several that had inforced that belief, but the two people sitting before me were proof that it wasn't completely true. _Which reminds me…_

"What's your name?" I asked the boy, annoyed at myself for not asking sooner. He seemed surprised too, and replied with a touch of sheepishness.

"It's Stephan. I forgot I hadn't told you yet…" So he'd been given the older version of Steven. _I'll have to remember to make the "ph" sound instead of a v._ I nodded, glad to finally know. The "boy" in my head had finally been given a name.

"So what now? Will my friends and I ever get out of here?" I asked after a slightly awkward pause.

"Well…" Maria began sadly. Her eyes said it all. They couldn't do anything but wait until my next interrogation and hope there was still a living person to heal. Stephan had understated things when he'd said that she would only be able to lessen the pain. There was still a very real chance I would die.

"I wish we could-" Maria started to continue, but I raised my hand and shook my head. I didn't want to hear it said out loud.

"Maybe there's a way…" Stephan said softly. Maria looked confused for a moment, then very alarmed.

"Not that way! There're too many guards and members of the clan between them and that route! They'd never survive the run there!" She replied furiously. I liked that she said "Them", since it meant we'd be rescuing Atton and Sakuya as well, but not the odds she was making me envision. A sudden memory of Sakuya bleeding silver blood made me shutter. I never wanted that to happen again. However, if there was a chance to get out of this hellish place, I wanted to at least hear him out.

"Go on." I said sternly, trying hard to ignore the aghast look on Maria's face.

Looking a little surprised himself and more than a little impressed, Stephan said, "We can probably get the boy and vampire free for you, but getting to the way out I'm thinking of is something you three must do on your own. In the basement there's a large wardrobe sitting in the far right corner. Underneath it is a trap door leading away from here that opens in the woods. Once you get out, it's a left turn and a two mile walk to civilization! The difficult part is getting through the first floor to the basement stairs. The first floor is where half of the coven, including a good many of our trackers, is waiting to hear what information Baine can glean from you. The attack on the Bricks mansion was a failure, and we lost quite a few of our warriors, so they are anxious for some good news. Their guards will be up."

As he spoke, I visualized what he was saying in my head, but without any knowledge of the mansion we were in, how on earth could I make a plan to get through that floor? Still, they seemed to believe it was the only way, so of course I would have to try it. What other choice did I have? At least this way Atton and Sakuya had a chance of surviving. It was wonderful news indeed that the attack had failed, but If they stayed here, there was no doubt in my mind Baine would get rid of them before Amilio found us. All I wanted was for them to be safe.

"How are you going to set them free? Sakuya is being held with magic! Can't only vampires dispel something like that?" I asked, determined to know the plan in detail before I made my decision final.

"I don't know yet, but I have more freedom than you do." He said, pointing out the obvious. His confidence that everything would work out showed plainly on his face. "Besides, we have Maria here to release the vam-Sakuya." Well, he got points for determination, if anything.

"Baine is distracted right now with getting our warriors ready for another battle with the Purebloods and thinking of a new way to get information out of you and your friends." Maria put in. This truck a cord in my intuition. I'd just heard something I shouldn't have.

"Baine interrogated the others too?" I asked worriedly.

"Of course, dear! But no worries! They didn't tell him anything he didn't already know!" Maria replied quickly. I let out a sigh of relief at the ring of truth in her words.

"How badly are they hurt?" I asked. Maria opened her mouth to answer, but just as quickly shut it again and started pushing me back down into a laying position. Her eyes wide, she quickly motioned for Stephan to follow her.

"What's-" I started to ask, but Stephan quickly covered my mouth and shushed me.

"Maria can sense when another vampire comes near." He hissed in my ear before hurriedly turning and following her out the door. I was alone once again, and I still had no idea how we were going to get to the basement. Maybe, with a bit of luck, a chance would present itself. Refusing to let my hopes die, I settled on the bed in as close to the way I'd been laid as I could remember and waited for my company to arrive. I didn't have to for long.

"See? The filthy girl is still sittin' there as if she forgot how to make herself move!" It was Tom, and he'd brought someone with him. I didn't dare lift my head to look.

"I see." So it was Baine. At the sound of his voice my mind twisted in terror. Every injury, even the ones that weren't there anymore, came alive with the remembered blows that had caused them. "Call for Maria. If she can't move, she more than likely can't speak either. Tell her to heal only what must be healed. Bruises mean nothing. And fix that ridiculous position she's in!" Before another word was spoken, the door opened and closed once more, and Baine was gone. It took more effort than I thought to hold back my sigh of relief.

Tom's dirty shoes came into view for a second before I was heaved onto my back and the pillow was shoved under my head. It wasn't as comfortable as leaning against the headboard, but it was better than being stuck lying at an absurd angle on my stomach. For a moment, Tom stood in my view, a look of disgust on his ugly features. It was hard to believe that he, Stephan, and Maria were part of the same family. Finally, he turned away and left to find Maria. I hoped she'd gotten far enough away that she didn't cause suspicion. Glad to be able to blink without having to consciously move as slow as I had been before, I tried to imagine what Maria would act like under Tom's hateful gaze.

"…says to only heal the biggest wounds." Tom was finished as he and Maria walked back inside several minutes later. _So she got far enough away after all…_ I smiled inwardly. So far everything was still going well. Whatever everything was.

"Baine seems to have really done a number on her." Maria's voice replied, full with disgust just as cold as Tom's. It was a voice that despised humans, plain and simple. _I hope all of that is just acting…_ Hard fingers prodded at my bruises, and a small whimper escaped my lips before I could stop it.

"The inner injuries are severe…" She muttered to herself. Her face swam in and out of view as she checked up and down my stomach. "It'll take a few minutes, but I can heal her." She said louder to Tom. Her fingers moved more gently as they began to pump energy into my muscles. I gasped at the rush of it, aware that she was giving me strength and tricking Tom at the same time. It was glorious, like she was filling me with liquid sunshine. From near the door I heard Tom snicker. My gasp must have made him think that Maria was hurting me as she healed. After hearing the voice she'd spoken with, it was easy to imagine why he would.

I squirmed around, fighting not to laugh at the exhilaration of every cell in my body humming with renewed strength, but only succeeding in softening it urge into more whimpers. Thankfully, this only strengthened Tom's belief that all was well. When she finally finished "healing" me, I felt as if I'd burst if she gave me anymore, and yet I desperately wanted her to. I very nearly called out to her to come back when she turned to leave, but I got a stronger hold on myself and stopped at the last possible second. A vampire's magic was a dangerous thing indeed.

"She'll survive now." Maria stated simply, earning a grunt in reply.

"Sit up!" Tom ordered as soon as she was gone. Very slowly, I did as I was told, knowing that if I went even a little faster, I'd do something stupid. I was stilling feeling much too reckless.

"You feel better, filth?"

"Yes…"

"Good. Are you hungry?"

"Yes!" I almost cried the word. I wasn't hungry at all, but I knew it was a chance to see Atton and Sakuya again. I wanted to see with my own eyes that they were ok.

"Then get up. The other pigs are already eating." He snarled at me harshly. Grimacing in my efforts not to smile, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and carefully let my legs take my weight. They shook for a moment, but it was with the yearning to run, not from being unable to hold me up. My hands, which had come untied at some point, were quickly, and painfully, rebound, before he would let me take another step.

I tried to memorize as much of the way to the dining room as I could on the way. With my racing mind, it was much easier than I thought it'd be. It was an even shorter distance than it had been from my other room. _Left hallway, second door on the right. Left hallway, second door on the right. _I chanted the directions like a prayer as I was tied to my armrests. Sakuya, who'd already had her blood if her mouth was any indication, and Atton seemed the same as the last time I saw them. At least, I thought so until I saw the bruise peeking over the top of Atton's collar and the five inch gash on Sakuya's arm that was steadily bleeding the silver liquid that was her blood.

"Wednesday! I going to kill him! Are you ok? I'm so sorry!" Atton said in a strangled voice when he saw my face. _How bad do I look?_ I thought to myself. I'd forgotten completely that I was still covered in bruises. I got my answer when I caught my reflection in Sakuya's goblet. The entire left side of my jaw was an ugly shade of purple and a jagged, half-healed cut decorated my forehead. By some stroke of fate, Baine managed to miss the main features of my face. I didn't even have a black eye. Still, the damage he had caused was frightening, and the fact that I couldn't feel it at all was testimony to Maria's skill as a healer.

"I'm ok, really." I said around my bite of mash potatoes. They didn't have much variety when it came to human food. Then again, I suppose vampires have no real need for it. "The healer did really good at getting rid of the worst of it. More importantly, how are you two doing?"

"More importantly?" Atton gasped indignantly. He was silenced from continueing by a huge bite of peas.

"We're fine. I don't know how much longer they're going to let us live, though. Baine must to have figured out that we won't give anything away by now." Sakuya said, taking advantage of Atton's occupation. I sighed. It was one thing to think something to yourself but quite another to hear it said aloud by someone you knew.

"Do you think we'll ever make it out of here?" Atton whispered, his face grave.

"Don't ask things like that!" I said firmly. I couldn't tell them anything in front of our feeders, but I refused to let them give up hope. "Lets just keep surviving for now and hope that something happens. Who knows? Baine may even let us go." Even as I uttered the last sentence, I knew it was a ridiculous notion. Baine wasn't letting us go anywhere without a fight.

"Yea…" Atton said without any conviction. Without anything to say, we continued eating in silence. I hated not knowing what was in store for us, but who knew when I might get another chance to speak with Maria and Stephan alone. I had to face the fact that we could be stuck here for days, if we even lasted that long.

"Ah, it seems as if you are doing better, dear Wednesday." Baine's voice cut into my train of thought like a heated knife. Fear twisted my stomach, making me regret eating anything at all, and I turned to see him standing in the doorway. To my shock, Stephan was standing next to him, a grim look on his edged features. Following my gaze, Baine smiled wickedly and stepped aside to give us a better view of the boy behind him. "Where are my manners? I've forgotten to introduce you."

"This is my son, Stephan."

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**Yayayay! AAAlll dooonnee! Did you like it? Huh, huh? oh gosh...sorry, im running on a huge cup of coffee right now...0_o...anyhoo! pleeeeassseeee review! I hope you enjoyed it as much as i enjoy writing this book! :) REVIEW THIS CHAPTER KIRA! (Shes my bff! XD)**


	22. Chapter 25 Unrational Actions

Ch. 25

"This is my son, Stephan."

The words echoed menacingly through my thoughts as I stared uncomprehendingly at the pair standing before me. Then a million questions started zooming through my brain, all trying to be heard at once.

_Baine had a son? Why would he being him here to introduce us? Was this part of some scheme?_

With that question came a darker thought.

_Had Stephan been planning to lead us into a trap? _

The small part of me that was still sensible argued that that didn't make any sense, but I barely registered its existence. I'd gone through too much, seen too much horror at the hands of the man standing in the doorway, to be able to believe he could father anything that wasn't as cruel and twisted as he was. Maria's voice and expression while in the presence of Tom only strengthened my unfair and undeserved assessment that Stephan could not be trusted. As the silence grew, I fell farther and farther into the dark thoughts that now filled my mind, imagining a thousand gruesome things that might be waiting for us if we took his escape route.

My heart screamed at me, trying in vain to pull me from the path my mind was taking, but I couldn't seem to help myself anymore. I could feel that this was the final straw. My overwhelmed existence had finally taken such a beating that it could no longer hold its original form and was about to turn into something even I wouldn't be able to recognize.

My entire focus was on Stephan's grim face, so I saw immediately when the spark that had been in his eyes before returned for a brief second and he tipped his head in an infinitesimal nod. Immediately, my downward spiral faltered. The part of me that was still me rushed forward, desperately taking advantage of the lull to force coherent thoughts, true thoughts, back into my mind. I realized, finally, that I was overreacting to what was before me and that I was dangerously close to losing myself to Baine's evil, to everything that was the vampire's world. Terror at what I had almost lost in myself filled me, my whole body shuttering with the force of it. Stephan couldn't have been trying to trap us. Why would he do that if we were already captured and at their mercy? The only explanation that made any kind of sense was that he truly wanted to save us from his father. With that realization came relief. A relief so strong I shook even harder. With a satisfying sigh, my being snapped back into the form it'd always been in.

All this happened in the span of a few moments.

"…poor mother died a week after his birth." Baine was saying, his face devoid of any emotion other than smug glee. A devilish sneer had stretched his face while I was focused on Stephan. This confused me. Why was he so pleased? I got my answer as he continued.

"You could imagine my pleasure when I learned I'd fathered an heir! And what a beautiful wife his mother would have made! It was such a pity she chose to run." At this he shrugged, a very human gesture for such a monster. The image he was painting in my head was a disgusting one. From Stephan's strained expression I guessed he wasn't enjoying the story either.

"You…" I heard myself saying without any memory of telling my mouth to do so. "You killed his mother and stole him..? You're…you're…" I couldn't find a word strong enough to describe him. I could see all too clearly the frightened woman running for her life, clutching a crying infant to her bosom, trying to escape from the demon laughing cruelly behind her.

"I do try." He answered my unuttered insult, bowing majestically. "Having an heir means that my reign won't end after I've killed that insufferable Amilio and the rest of his kind." I hissed through my teeth, wishing with everything I had that I could erase him from existence.

"So fiery!" He laughed at me, his fangs flashing, and motioned our still feeders. Wordlessly, they began untying us to be moved back into out cells. Atton, his face murderous, let himself be led away without speaking.

I had other plans.

I dropped my eyes and made what I hoped was a surrendering expression as I waited for my turn to be untied. The moment my hands were free, I lunged. I knew I couldn't possibly cause Baine real harm, but I had to do something. All I needed was one hit, one little scratch on that gloating face of his, and I would be satisfied for now. A furious snarl ripped through my throat as my nails made contact with his surprised expression.

I didn't see the blow coming. One moment I was spitting in Baine's face, the next I was flying upside-down across the room. The table caught my left arm, changing my course and flipping me around the right way before I landed in a heap next to Sakuya's now empty seat. I struggled to stand, fighting against the new pain in my arm and side, determined to see if my efforts had been fruitful. They had. A long, thin scratch on Baine's right cheek was bleeding a tiny ribbon of silver blood where he stood stock still on the other side of the room. Hysterical laughter bubbled up at the outrage in his eyes. A human had managed to hurt the all-powerful Baine! The idea only made the laughter worse.

"She's not in her right mind, father…" Stephan soothed, trying, I was sure, to lessen the pain I would no doubt experience for my actions. I didn't care anymore. This whole ridiculous situation was suddenly the funniest thing I'd ever seen. My throat ached from the strength of my own guffaws, but I couldn't stop it, didn't want to.

"Send that filthy thing to its room. It'll get its punishment during the next interrogation." Baine spat, lifting his hand to cover his new wound.

It wasn't until I was sprawled across my bed that my snickers became huge, gut wrenching sobs.

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**I'm sooooo sorry this is so tiny after you waited so long! next chapter is a big one so i hope you can forgive me! I've already got a lot written and i'm still writing more! please bare with me just a little longer! i love you all! im sorry! pleeeaaseee review!**


	23. Chapter 26 The Plan

Ch. 26

I calmed down long before my tears ran dry, but I didn't try to stop them from flowing. I knew that if I let them have their way now they'd be reluctant to come again. Crying was a waste of time and energy that I couldn't afford anymore.

It was time to start planning.

I spent every second waiting for Baine to send for me pouring over what Stephan had told me about the trap door and the vampires blocking the way. Dozens of possibilities ran through my head, though most were so obviously doomed to fail that I passed them by after a second of contemplation. One plan, though it required quite of bit of help on Stephan and Maria's part, seemed to hold the most promise. I only prayed I'd have another moment alone with them to see if they thought it would work.

Footsteps approaching the door broke through my brooding concentration. Tom tensed beside the doorframe, turning his ever vigilant gaze towards the sound. The footsteps stopped outside, then three hard knocks made me jump. Obviously, it wasn't Baine calling.

"Enter." Tom growled, visibly peeved to have to speak.

The door opened to reveal Maria. It was easy to keep my face neutral after the ordeal before. In those few minutes I'd become harder, more determined. Nothing was going to ruin our escape if I had anything to do with it. Maria nodded to Tom slightly before crossing the threshold and sitting on the bed beside me.

"Baine wanted me to make sure the trash hadn't been damaged again." Maria said. Her voice was just as cold as it had been before, but her eyes, hidden from Tom's view, were bright with worry. The ice around my heart melted a little at that gentle reminder that I wasn't alone. A hiss so soft I almost didn't catch it slid through her teeth at the sight of the hand-shaped bruise that was already turning purple-black across my left side. It wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be. Whichever vampire had given the blow could have easily crushed my ribs if they'd wanted to.

Softly pulling my shirt back down, Maria lifted my arm and pushed lightly on the rectangular mark the table had left behind. Red hot pain shot up my arm, and a cry of surprise burst from my lips before I could stifle it.

"The bone is cracked, at the very least." Maria mumbled to herself before covering the spot with her free hand and pumping her amazing magic into my arm. She put far more into it than she needed to, leaving me tingling from the renewed energy. Once again, I had to focus on moving slowly. "She'll be fine." Maria grunted, getting up and moving back to stand in front of Tom. "Why don't you go find something to drink? It's been a couple days now, right? It'd be a pity if you drained the pig before Baine got a chance to get the information he needs." I shuttered, knowing exactly what Maria meant by "find something to drink", but she was giving us time alone we desperately needed, so I shut that image away.

"As long as you think you can watch her." Tom answered, his face clearly saying that he didn't trust her to be able to. Maria snarled, a deep-throated and terrifying sound, at the hinted insult to her abilities as a vampire. Tom paled and nodded quickly. "I'll be back in an hour." He muttered, then turned on his heal and practically fled the room.

"Now…" Maria began after making sure he was gone. "You know I don't approve of your idea of a safe escape, but I trust master Stephan knows that he's doing. Have you thought of ideas yet? I had a chance to speak briefly with your partner Atton. He doesn't seem to be very happy of the danger either, though the fear was strictly for you."

I ducked my head at her knowing stare, ignoring the flames behind my cheeks. Now was not the time to be embarrassed or pleased about things like that.

"I have one, but it includes you and Stephan." I answered tentatively and paused to see her reaction. Her face showed no change in expression, so I took that as a good sign and continued, "Well, it's a little ridiculous, but it's all I could think of that didn't involve a fight. It begins with Stephan telling Baine that Atton and I aren't giving him the respect his station deserves, that he wants us to be punished in front of each other's eyes. He could suggest that the basement is the only room large enough for this. As he does this, you could interrupt and admit you'd been eavesdropping. Say Sakuya has been hard to handle, rude, annoying, whatever you think would be most believable, and ask if you can bring her too. This is where it gets dangerous for you two. If you leave the basement without us, everyone will know something is up. You'd have to come with us…" I trailed off, knowing I was asking too much, and stared at my lap. A long silence stretched out that I didn't dare break first.

"The plan has merit." Maria said softly, her voice thoughtful. I let out the breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding with a relieved sigh.

"But," She continued, "Stephan isn't free to do as he pleases. He is as much a prisoner here as you and your friends. For this kind of plan to work, he would have to come before Baine with a bruise or cut, something to show one of you had struck him, and beg him not to punish you. Baine, of course, would do just that. He'd then have to plead not to be there, that it be somewhere small, out of the way. Baine lets Stephan live only because he needs an heir if he wants to avoid a battle for his title. He knows Stephan is pure-hearted and despises him for it."

I nodded, pleasantly surprised that Baine hated his only son.

"Who would hit him?" I asked, going back to what she'd said before.

"It would have to be one of you two, so that the wound would smell of you." Maria replied, her face grim. I gulped lightly, not liking the idea of causing my rescuer harm.

"I…I'll do it…I'll slap him or scratch his face…" I forced myself to say. As far as I knew, Stephan hadn't met with Atton yet. I feared Atton would enjoy the idea of hitting him a little too much.

"Good. We have forty-five minutes until Tom returns. I will call for him." Maria said with a nod before reaching into her pocket for a tiny green device and sticking it in her ear.

"Stephan? Do you read me?" She asked the open air, her finger pressing against the machinery. I stared at her with wide eyes as she tilted her head, listening to his response. "Come to the girl's room as soon as possible. We have a plan." Without another word, she stashed the little green earpiece away again and blinked at me as if it had never happened.

"Um…is he coming..?" I inquired curiously, fidgeting with my once white shirt hem. I'd woken up wearing white pants and a long white shirt. Apparently, the clothes I'd had on weren't suited for torture.

"Yes, dear, he'll be here in a minute or two. He was cleaning up after his father's meal when I spoke with him." She answered matter-of-factly. I shuttered, forcing away my revulsion. Poor Stephan.

Several long minutes later, a soft knock made us both start. I had the sense to note that Maria could only sense vampires, since Stephan's arrival had caught her by surprise as well. Maria rapped against the headboard of my bed three times; a signal I could only assume meant all was well, because Stephan opened the door and quickly shut it behind him.

"What have we got?" He asked as he sat beside me, getting straight to business. I fed off his energy, using it as a crutch to hide the fear from my voice as I repeated my plan, changing the details to fit what Maria had said would work the best. He listened to the entire thing without interrupting then put his head in his hands and brooded to himself. He looked ten years older when he did this. I knew then that he had lived a very hard life, seen more terrors than I could ever imagine. My heart ached to lift the burden that had been forced onto his shoulders by Baine.

"I like it." He said finally, lifting his head and looking at us, his face regaining its youth instantly. "I should have thought of it days ago, actually. What better way to escape is there than making Baine himself help us do it?" He laughed humorlessly, his eyes reflecting a deep-rooted hatred. He turned to me then, his expression softening a little, and offered his right cheek. "Will you do the honors?" He asked softly. I stared back at him, not having expected that the plan would begin so soon. I'd hoped to prepare myself for having to do this.

"I…ok…yeah…" I managed to gasp. Trying not to let myself think about it, I lifted my hand and slapped him, but there was no force behind it. His face didn't even move.

"A little harder than that." He said, chuckling. I nodded jerkily, my face burning. "Imagine that I'm the kind of son Baine would be proud of." He added as an after-thought. That helped a little. Closing my eyes, I pretended he was nasty, cruel, like his father. That he was here to laugh at me instead of help me get away. An image of him sneering gleefully formed in my mind's eye. Before it could crumble away, I raised my hand once again and struck him with all the force I could muster. I opened my eyes as my hand made contact and saw his water in pain as his head snapped farther to the side. Immediately, regret filled me and I stammered an apology.

"No, you did good…" He assured me, a crooked grin spreading across his face. I'd hit him so hard he couldn't even smile right! More apologies poured from me as I stared at the red mark that was quickly darkening across his cheek bone.

"Wednesday…Wednesday!" He laughed outright, grabbing one of my hands and covering my mouth to quiet me. "You did exactly what we needed you to do to get you out of here! It's only a bruise, ok? Maria can heal it once we're in the clear. I need to go to Baine while it's still fresh. Don't beat yourself up over doing necessary things ok?" He stared me down sternly until I dropped my eyes in defeat, then stood and left.

"He's taken more damage than that, dear…he'll be just fine…" Maria tried to soothe me. It only made me feel worse, but I made myself let it go for now. They were right after all. It had been necessary for our plan to work. "Thirty-two minutes until Tom returns…" Maria added randomly, successfully pulling my thoughts away from what I'd just done.

"Why do the Unclean hate humans to much while the Purebloods try so hard to make sure they don't kill when they feed?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Pride, idiocy, there are many reasons. The most prominent is that Baine and those who follow him loyally believe that humans are a blight on the Earth. Why should they hide in secrecy while their food overpopulates and runs things? Baine grew quickly tired of Amilio and his ideals about the humans. He'd been born different than the other Purebloods. His skin was dark, his eyes a peculiar brown. Somehow, a recessive mutation had formed, and Baine was the first to ever be born with it. Stephan was the second, and last. Every Unclean here was made via the ceremony of transformation. Baine took his differences as a sign that he was better, higher, than Amilio, and he broke away from him to build his own people. Amilio made the mistake of leaving him be. He believed that a lone vampire could do little without help. He was very wrong." Maria replied, her face twisted in distaste.

"Why did you stay, if you hate their ways so much?" I pressed, trying to clear up my confusion.

"I didn't always…I was just as loyal as Tom once. Baine has a way of coloring his dark ways with pretty words. I didn't believe we were doing anything wrong until he learned of his newborn son." She paused, seeming to gather her thoughts. I could barely breathe. Releasing a breath of her own, she continued, "I was part of the team sent to find the child…I saw with my own eyes what he did to her…he made her death slow, agonizing. On that day, I vowed that I would never trust Baine again, but I couldn't just leave. I had to make sure the child didn't grow up knowing only his influences. I requested that I become his nanny, and Baine accepted, glad to have someone to take care of 'It'."

"I'm glad you did…and not because he wants to help us…" I said, not knowing how to put what I was feeling into words. Maria, I sensed, was the only reason Stephan had become the boy he was. I was grateful that she had spared him from an evil fate. She inclined her head at me, her eyes telling me she understood. I lay down, my curiosity quenched for the time being, and tried to relax into the pillow. Beside me, Maria stood and moved to stand beside the door so that Tom would return to find her doing as she said she would.

"…wasn't as good as fresh-squeezed." Tom's voice intruded on my doze. I'd fallen asleep again.

"It's your own fault for not getting there in time." Maria answered him, her voice chastising.

"And how is that my fault? The wolf was already there when I smelled her! I was lucky to get there while the blood was still warm!" Tom answered indignantly. Immediately, I knew what they were talking about. That poor, poor woman. Her life and blood were stolen from two mindless animals.

"Regardless, I hope you cleaned up after yourself. Baine wouldn't be happy if you caused another stir among the humans. You know he wants to take them by surprise." She admonished. I could just imagine the finger she was waggling at him.

"Just leave, woman! I've had my drink and I'm tired of your company!" Tom all but roared at her. I flinched at the force behind his words.

"Sorry, dear." Maria's voice was deadly calm. "Only Baine has the power to command me using that. You'd do well to remember that the next time you think to try and use it against me." The door opened and closed, marking her exit. I turned my head into the pillow and squeezed my eyes tighter closed. Vampires were by far the most frightening beings on Earth.

"Wake up, dear." A voice sounded an hour later.

It was the voice I'd been dreading. Baine's.

"We're having a little get-together. Won't that be nice?"

I doubted it.

* * *

**ok! finally done with this one! is it a little better than the last? I sure hope so! Will they escape? KEEPZ READING! ITZ ON ITZ WAAAY! and please, PLEASE review! even a "Its good" or "I hate it!" is better than not hearing frm my readers at all...i wanna no ur feelings about it! pwweezz? **


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